“I have so much to be thankful for,” says Jan Weaver, “God has taken such good care of me.”  Jan, who is a resident of Oxford, was the recipient of a new roof this past summer.  Several teens who attended Good Neighbors’ Youth Summer Camp spent five days replacing her roof during the month of July.  “God arranged for me to meet Tom Hilferty, one of Good Neighbors’ project managers, just at the time when I needed a new roof.  I had no idea how I was going to pay for it because I live on a limited income, but God brought Good Neighbors into my life just when I needed it.”  Jan has been living alone for over 20 years and a recent fall has made it difficult for her to work. 
​      Anyone who spends time with Jan will instantly notice her spirit of gratitude and grace and her spirit is a reminder to all of us to be deeply grateful for all the many blessings that God bestows upon all of us every day.  May the spirit of Thanksgiving bless all of us! 

                  The importance of volunteering can be summed up in a single word: hope. While volunteering is important because it puts a roof over someone’s head or fixes an unstable deck, the true power of volunteering is in the hope it brings into people’s lives.
            Volunteering is important because it brings hope into the lives of the homeowners. Homeowners that need volunteer work often lack the physical or financial abilities to do the work themselves. They may feel dejected or abandoned. They may begin to lose faith in themselves, the world, or even God. When these homeowners see dozens of volunteers give up a week of their time to help a stranger, it changes their outlook on life. They realize that there are people out there that care for them and love them. Even more importantly, they remember that God loves them and has a plan for them.
            Volunteering brings hope into the lives of the homeowners, but the effect extends much farther than a single person. The volunteers themselves experience the same feeling of hope. When I walked into the church on Sunday and saw all the people that had volunteered their time to spread the love of Jesus, I was blown away. I was even more amazed when I realized that these were the same people I saw in school and at the grocery store. Student and adult leaders alike both experience this feeling of hope. When one of my group leaders dropped me off and two other volunteers at the church for the last time, he graciously thanked us for serving with him that week. But what he said after that is something I will remember for the rest of my life. He told us that seeing dozens of teenagers volunteer a week of their time to help a stranger gave him hope that this world is going to be just fine. This comment showed me that volunteering has a powerful effect on more than just the homeowner.
            The effects of volunteer work extends to one other group: the bystanders. Some people walk past the worksite without a second glance. But others take a minute to talk with us, and that is when I can truly see the hope that volunteering spreads. One man walked up to our group during our lunch break. After we told him what we were doing, he told us that it warmed his heart to see so many young people volunteering in his hometown. He thanked us again and prayed for us before he left. To me, this is the best part of volunteering. I love seeing the hope that is brings to the random people that happen to walk or drive past the house.
            Volunteering provides physical and financial assistance to those who need it, but it does so much more. Volunteering gives hope to everyone involved with it, whether they are the homeowners, the volunteers, or the people that witness it.

​  This month we said goodbye to a good friend. Ted Caldwell, one of our beloved homeowners, passed away at the age of 78 . A resident of Landenberg, Ted lived in the same house in which he grew up.
 
     In 2016, our summer Youth Camp did extensive repairs to his home. Some of the repairs included rebuilding his front porch and replacing the entire exterior wall on the back of his house. Ted adored spending time with our teens and was deeply touched by all that was done. The devotion that the youth demonstrated to Ted made a huge impact on him personally. This was evident to all of us when at his funeral, Ted was buried with an American flag to commemorate his service in Vietnam and a framed picture of himself and the youth in front of his home.

​Good Neighbors is excited because April is just around the corner! Do you want to know why we love it? April is National Volunteer Month and we LOVE our volunteers. Without them, we wouldn't be able to repair over 100 low income homes every year.

Volunteers like Larry Price are what make Good Neighbors' work so significant. Larry grew up in Kentucky and came to Chester County in a job transfer 30 years ago. He spent years working in the pharmaceutical industry as a Director of Quality Assurance. He has a talent for making production plants as efficient as possible. Now, Larry offers that talent to Good Neighbors by helping us to make our repair process as efficient as possible!

When asked why he has donated over 10 years of volunteer service to non profit home repair companies, Larry replied, "I love to see the results. I not only see the results at the end of the day, I can feel them. When you are tired from a long day of repairing houses you can really 'feel' that you made a contribution and that kind of tired makes you feel good!"

Working on a repair site has really impacted Larry throughout the years. "I used to just write checks and then a few years ago a light bulb came on in my head. I thought, 'I'm not completely in the game. I want to see people effected. I want to be hands on!'" Larry now understands what it means to give his time, talent and treasure. "As Christians, we need to give all three of these, not just one or two," explains Larry.

We wish to thank Larry and the hundreds of other faithful volunteers that contribute their time, treasure and talent to our work. We really couldn't do it without you!

A Newark homeowner contacted us seeking help with some home repairs. She and her husband had run a prosperous business, but he died, and she had to assume all of the duties of the business herself. Her situation was complicated further when she was diagnosed with a debilitating disease. Whatever financial resources she had left were wiped out by medical expenses. And you can probably guess what happened next: unable to work, she had to shutter the business.

Here is a woman who worked hard to hang on after the devastating loss of her husband. She worked hard, but in the providence of God, her situation was harder. It was our joy to be able to repair her furnace and chimney, and it was her joy, too—she wept at the completion of the work, overwhelmed with gratitude. May God grant her mercy in her circumstances, and lasting hope in Christ Jesus.

Last week, we shared some photos to social media from a project in Wilmington. The homeowners are a couple who have lived at their address for over thirty years, and are recently facing health challenges. The husband had a heart attack some years ago, and still faces ongoing issues with pain in his arms and hands. His wife was diagnosed with cancer shortly after we began work on their home.

After New Castle County building inspectors sent violation notices for several issues, the couple reached out to Good Neighbors to help address them. They met our criteria, and we set about working on the home. So far, we've worked on rebuilding their back porch, fixing damaged plaster, and putting up new siding.

Please join us in praying for this couple. Pray for healing for her cancer, and pain management for the lingering effects of his heart attack. Pray that the Lord would provide for their financial and physical needs. Above all, pray that our work—done in Jesus name—would point their eyes to Jesus, the only true and lasting provision for the healthy and the hurting, the prosperous and the poor.