Volunteers, house captains needed for Labor of Love to assist 26 homes in 2022

Since United Way of Eastern La Salle County’s first Labor of Love in 1992, volunteers of all ages have repaired and restored 919 homes.

Labor of Love is celebrating its 31st year of helping low-income homeowners Saturday, Oct. 1.

The volunteer Planning Team, under the leadership of Bill Cairns, Brian Lacke and John Levy, have been developing work plans for each of the 26 homes Labor of Love is hoping to provide services.

United Way’s Labor of Love is a one-day community volunteer effort to repair, restore and winterize homes owned and occupied by local senior citizens, veterans, people with disabilities and poor families.

As in past years, Labor of Love is planning for hundreds of community volunteers to unite and fan out across our local communities to provide free home repair services to neighbors in need of help. Organizers are seeking skilled and unskilled volunteers to help perform small miracles for deserving homeowners who cannot do the work themselves and do not have the means to hire the work done.

Anyone 14 and older can be a Labor of Love volunteer. Volunteer workers and at least one house captain are needed at every home. House captains provide team leadership and home project coordination. House captains will be meeting Tuesdays, Sept. 6 and Sept. 13 to select their Labor of Love home and coordinate plans for the work to be done. The meetings will be at United Way, 601 State St., Ottawa. Enter from the front of First National Bank Ottawa, south branch. If you are interested in learning more about serving as a house captain, call United Way, 815-434-4003.

Skilled labor, the building trades and contractors will handle the most challenging aspects and provide the expertise, enabling volunteers of all skill levels to pitch in and help. Labor of Love needs at least 26 house captains as well as all-around handy men and women, licensed roofers, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, cement finishers, HVAC, flooring, siding and tree service professionals.

Volunteer help also is needed to serve breakfast at 7 a.m. and lunch at noon to the volunteers, and to help with cleanup.

Volunteers will spend Oct. 1 repairing, replacing and weatherizing to make the homes of elderly, disabled and poor homeowners warm, safe, dry and accessible. Projects will range from roof and porch repairs; replacement and repairs of doors, windows, plumbing and electrical fixtures; repairs and installation of flooring, gutters and siding; general cleaning, painting and trash removal, furnace inspections; yard work, gutter cleaning, window washing; and smoke and carbon monoxide detector installation, among other items.

“Some of the repairs seem small, such as installing grab bars so an elderly person can safely bathe and move about their home,” said Bill Cairns, Labor of Love co-chair and carpenter with Local 195/174. “Other repairs may involve extreme situations where individuals are living with unsafe electricity or an inoperable heating system. All repairs dramatically impact the lives of the recipient.”

Local homeowners approved to receive 2022 Labor of Love assistance live within the communities and rural areas of Ottawa, Marseilles, Seneca, Sheridan and Naplate. Applicant ages range from 50 to 93. All Labor of Love homeowners own and live in their home, meet eligibility criteria including financial eligibility, and participate in a home preview process. Volunteers complete the eligibility screening, confirm home ownership, conduct home previews and approve home selections. Priority is given to homes owned and occupied by senior citizens who need improvements to correct serious health, safety and accessibility deficiencies. The deadline to apply was Aug. 1.

“You have to experience Labor of Love to appreciate the need that exists and the great sense of community that comes from working with other volunteers on a project to improve the living conditions for these homeowners and their families,” said Lisa Zoran, Kitchen Committee co-chair. “Labor of Love is possible because of the extraordinary local volunteer spirit that exists within our community.”

Individuals or groups interested in volunteering to help with any aspect of Labor of Love and for any length of time Oct. 1 can pick up and complete a volunteer form and waiver. The forms are available at United Way, 601 State St., Ottawa. United Way is in First National Bank of Ottawa’s south branch. Forms can also be downloaded at www.unitedwayelc.org. Both the volunteer form and waiver should be completed, signed and returned to United Way prior to Oct. 1. Youth, age 14 to 17, must complete a student waiver, signed by both the student and parent/guardian.

As in previous years, industry and business, churches, organizations and high school groups have stepped forward to adopt a home as their own project, providing the necessary labor and muscle needed to complete work at a selected home. In 2021 more than 258 volunteers improved 26 homes. Contractors completed critical repairs at four homes, including replacing a floor, a roof, and converting a bathroom to be fully accessible, and Stevenson Transfer moved a couple with disabilities from an unsafe mobile home.

“The extent of work completed at each home will depend on the amount of contributions received and the number of volunteers who come forward to help on Oct. 1,” said Brian Lacke, Labor of Love co-chair and Electrician with Local 176.

“In addition to gifts of time and ‘sweat equity,’ Labor of Love is seeking the community’s financial support,” Lacke added. “We need your help. While we are all challenged with the expense of maintaining our homes, no one struggles more than the low-income homeowner. Today, more than ever, low-income older adults and families are placed in the position of choosing between vital necessities, such as medicine or making a utility payment; verses stopping a roof from leaking or restoring malfunctioning plumbing.”

Labor of Love works to ensure as many senior citizens and disabled homeowners as possible do not have to make these difficult choices.

Contributions can be mailed or delivered to Labor of Love, c/o United Way of Eastern La Salle County, 601 State St., Ottawa.

Call United Way at 815-434-4003 with any further questions.