AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
Byline: Brian Aberback
Apr. 25--OAKLAND, N.J. -- As she sat in her yard watching her tiny riverside cottage undergo a radical transformation Saturday morning, Claire Duvall was flabbergasted.
"This is amazing, absolutely amazing," she said with her possessions spread behind her on the lawn.
Duvall watched alongside her 18-year-old daughter, Heather, as three dozen volunteers gave her home a new paint job, installed new doors, windows, and insulation, and put the finishing touches on a handicapped-accessible shower for Heather, who is developmentally disabled and uses a wheelchair.
"I'm speechless," Duvall said.
The makeover was part of National Rebuilding Day, an annual effort to help low-income homeowners whose houses are in need of repair. More than 275,000 volunteers are giving face-lifts to 8,500 homes and community centers nationwide this weekend, according to Rebuilding Together, the Washington-based non-profit group that runs National Rebuilding Day.
Volunteers fixed up 13 homes in Bergen County, from Oakland and Ridgewood to Lodi, North Arlington, and Fort Lee. St. Elizabeth's Church of Wyckoff sponsored the Oakland cleanup.