Chuck is an elderly gentleman who lives in the same house he built with his bare hands with his best friend, his faithful dog Bravo. He says he’s been a working man all his life and you can see the itch to move and do something useful as he sits on his couch attached to an oxygen tank. Chuck says he has every medical condition in the book, but on a good day he’s climbing on his lawnmower to cut brush. He shared with me how much he loves the beautiful oak trees in his yard and how it pains him that he no longer has the strength to fight the leaves and keep up with the overgrown brush.
I got in contact with 1st Sgt. Baker who runs the NJROTC program at Pace High School and together we planned a day to come out to do a yard day for Chuck. 1st Sgt. Baker is a great friend of United Way of Santa Rosa County and whenever a situation arises for volunteers, the NJROTC students lend a helping hand. On a recent Saturday, we met 1st Sgt. and 15 NJROTC students at Chuck’s house armed with blowers, rakes, shovels, garden sheers, and brooms. As we pulled up to Chuck’s gate, we were greeted by a sign he had hung up for us “Welcome new friends!”
After 5 hours and 50 gallon bags of leaves and brush, the yard was complete. The NJROTC students worked hard and Chuck was impressed with their work ethic. Florida Pest Control came the following day and treated the house and yard free of charge. Chuck was thankful.
This story is the essence of living united and what United Way SRC is all about. We were able to mobilize volunteers to help someone in need. If you would like to volunteer in your community, please visit www.unitedwaysrc.org.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Mobilizing Our Community