Electrician enlists a whole community to repair pensioner’s home for free

A big-hearted electrician turned out to be a ‘light’ in shining armour when he enslisted the help of a whole community to ‘fix-up’ an American pensioner’s home for free.

WITH money tight, the 72-year-old homeowner Gloria Scoot, had been forced to let house repairs slide.

However, when an overhead light fixture went out, she knew she had to do something to avoid living in the dark and contacted electrician John Kinney.

There was no way Gloria could have imagined the impact her new ‘light in shining armour’ would have on her life.

Concerned about the extreme state of disrepair Gloria’s home was in, John couldn’t put her dire situation out of his mind and was determined to help.

Talking to CBS, he said: “No light, running water….it stuck with me over the weekend…I said ‘ I got to back there.”

And he did just that, working on other necessary repairs at no cost.

On seeing how much needed to be done he set up a “Nice old lady needs help’ Facebook page asking other tradespeople to help out.

He wrote: ” I met a nice old woman that lives all alone in Woburn. She has no internet or cell phone. When sparks started shooting out of her light fixture, she went to a neighbour, and they gave her my number.

“When I arrived at her house I discovered that the electrical was in very bad shape. Half her lights were out, she had no stove, and her refrigerator was plugged into an extension cord. I fixed her immediate electrical hazards and got her lights and air conditioning on.

“When all the lights came on, I saw that her ceilings were falling apart, her kitchen sink was broken, and that the place was filthy. She told me that critters often got in the house. The outside was no better. Gutters were falling down and it was surrounded by a jungle.

“She has no family, and money is tight. I got some volunteers together and we went in there and did a ton of yard work and cleanup. Everyone did an amazing job, and this nice old woman was very grateful. It’s simply just not enough though. She has some serious plumbing issues that need to be corrected.

“There is extensive drywall repair to be done. A massive amount of painting. Her front porch brick steps are an accident waiting to happen. I’m not looking to rebuild her whole house. I just want to make it safe and livable for her. I have a network of skilled professionals that will donate their time to this cause. I’m looking to raise money for materials. Thank you very much.”

And the response and acts of kindness was incredible.

Almost €94,000 has been donated and an overwhelingly enthusiastic Woburn, Massachusetts community immediately offered their servcies, and Gloria’s home now boasts new electrical and plumbing systems and new windows.

Crumbling walls, ceilings, front steps and porch have also been repaired.

Local residents have also tranformed the pensioner’s garden, landscaping and planting, with neighbours providing food for those involved.

John has since named the project ‘Gloria’s Gladiators’ and hopes to inspire other tradespeople elsewhere to help elderly residents in their own communities.

Thank you for reading this article “Electrician enlists a whole community to repair pensioner’s home for free”.

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