Stephanie Debevec has made her home in a neat two-bedroom Waukegan house since 1944.
In the years she has lived there, she has seen many changes in the area. The dirt road in front of her house was paved, and the woods around her home were replaced by homes.
Her brick home itself, however, changed little over the years, because Debevec could not afford to make major renovations.
On a Saturday one month ago, Debevec, 78, was all smiles as she supervised the work that volunteers were putting into her home as part of the local observance of Christmas in April. The nationwide one-day volunteer effort to help elderly, disabled and low-income people is sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based Christmas in April USA.
Arriving at 7 a.m., volunteers of all ages and abilities got to work painting, installing a new floor in the kitchen and sprucing up the front yard with new plants.
Debevec peeked inside a large metal trash dump, where volunteers deposited items she no longer needed.
“It’s real nice for them to pitch in,” said Debevec, a homemaker and avid bowler. “I’m very happy.”
Debevec offered coffee and doughnuts to her helpers while watching the workers with awe. She had been up since 2 a.m. in anticipation of the big day, when years of accumulated problems were repaired.
Among the people helping in Debevec’s front yard were her neighbors Bernice and Jim Pullen. Working on Debevec’s home was the first time they had participated in Christmas in April, but both said they are now hooked on the volunteer project.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Bernice Pullen said. “There are a lot of elderly people who can’t afford to keep up their houses, but it’s the best place for them as long as they are able to stay there.”
Bernice Pullen, 65, was pleased to see that quite a few of her fellow volunteers were teenagers or in their 20s.
“I think they like to get involved with this kind of stuff; they all seem enthused,” she said of the young helpers.
Jim Pullen, 64, cheerfully described himself as the project’s gofer, having made several trips to the store for supplies before noon.
“It’s for people who can’t do it themselves,” he said of the project. “You just couldn’t do anything better for people.”
Jim Pullen, who also spent a good bit of the morning mowing his neighbor’s back yard, said the volunteer effort also was a nice way to meet people who like to help others.
The event provides one day where the needs of others come first, said Dotti Danca, a volunteer from Crystal Lake. “You get into a routine of doing things for yourself, and you forget there are people in need,” Danca explained.
“It’s nice to help out other people instead of always helping ourselves,” added Theresa Cleek, a volunteer from West Chicago. The group advertises for volunteers in local papers.
Cleek predicted that the Debevec home would be practically like new once the daylong rehabbing effort was finished.
Six homes in Waukegan were selected for improvements, said John H. Cox of Glenview, an investment adviser and attorney who serves as president of the north suburban affiliate of Christmas in April, which began more than 25 years ago in Texas. There were a total of 18 homes in the north suburban region, which extended from Evanston to the Wisconsin border. Local businesses donate cash and supplies.
Among the other communities where homes were getting a face-lift were Evanston, Glenview, Park Ridge and Northbrook, Cox said.
While volunteers who are handy with a hammer and paintbrush are always sought, everyone is welcome to lend a hand, according to Cox. “The vast majority are people like me who can’t change a light bulb if you give me six hours,” Cox joked. “This is a way to really work in your community. You can get in there and help your neighbor and make a difference.”
Pat Konicki, director of the Fair Housing Center of Lake County, helped select the homes in Waukegan from applications. Some of the homes that were not selected simply required much more work than could be accomplished by volunteers in one day, Konicki said.
“It makes these people’s lives brighter,” Konicki said of the recipients of the volunteer effort.
Bob Debevec, Stephanie Debevec’s son, agreed that his mother was thrilled by the transformation on her property.
“She loves it; this is the best thing that ever happened,” said Debevec as he prepared to scale his mother’s roof for more touching up. “This is beautiful; they’re doing an excellent job.”
Cox has observed that fixing up one house in any given neighborhood sometimes has an “infectious” result.
“It inspires the neighborhood to some extent. . . . You see pockets of improvement beyond what we did” in previous years, Cox said.
Several blocks to the north, the scene was similar at the home of another senior citizen, Margo Hawkins.
Volunteers seemed to have hau led most of the contents of the modest home out onto the front yard as they cleaned, painted and generally reorganized the home.
“It’s going well; the attitude of everybody is great,” said Mark Stricklin, a Waukegan resident who served as the house captain in charge of the project. “Everybody is very motivated; everybody has a can-do attitude. They’re always asking me what’s next. They’re keeping me hopping.”
The volunteers are from all areas and backgrounds; the one thing they have in common is that they want to help, Stricklin said.
“It’s crossed all cultural lines: We have many ethnic groups working together,” Stricklin said.
Danielle Russell of Waukegan said that she wants to get into the real estate business and that volunteering to work on homes is giving her a good perspective on what is involved in rehabbing a home. “It’s pretty neat,” she said. “You’re helping out in the community; I see that this lady needed help.”
Hawkins’ grandson Darwin Hawkins was among those pitching in.
His grandmother has lived in the home for more than two decades, Hawkins said. But some major health setbacks had prevented his grandmother, who lives on a fixed income, from doing the work the volunteers managed to accomplish in just a few hours.
“Nothing’s been done in years,” Hawkins said as he took a brief break from moving his grandmother’s furniture to the small patch of lawn that serves as the home’s front yard.
“They’re getting the job done. That’s what I appreciate,” he said. “This has been heaven-sent, really.”
———-
For information on the Christmas in April organization, phone 847-498-2690.
