Friday, March 20, 2009

COMPLETED Project 22 - Help Moving on April 4th

UPDATE 4/4: Well, our moving project went off really well on Saturday the 4th. We moved a wonderful woman from inner SE Portland out to Gresham. We had 5 volunteers for the move. Thank you so much to Igor, Mel, Trevor, Michelle and Seth.

So, even though we had 4 cars and 1 truck to pack up, we ended up making 2 trips. It went smoothly, though. This lovely woman was very thankful and we couldn't be happier to have helped!
Thank you again to everyone. You are changing people's lives and giving them renewed hope in humanity!

UPDATE 4/2: We have four volunteers so far (and 1 truck) but can always use more hands!! Please let us know if you Have Time to Help this woman.

UPDATE 3/22: We are planning to meet at our house at 9am, Saturday April 4th, and then carpooling to this woman's house. If you Have Time to Help please email or call us for the address. If you are unable to donate the whole day, but can still partially help, please contact us and we can give you the address of where we will be starting.

We were contacted by someone who needs help moving. She has a 1-bedroom apartment with no appliances. A couch, dresser and bed are the largest items. She is unable to lift the heavy things and asked if we had people with trucks and any others who could help.

Does anyone have Time to Help?

If you can help this woman please give us a call at 503-953-6018 or email us at wevegottimetohelp@q.com.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Project 21 Multi-generational garden

We were contacted by a woman who runs a wonderful non-profit that helps children in transition from/to foster care.

She has a bunch of space that can be turned into (5 or so) raised garden beds, that she will then use to teach the children about gardening and send the fruits of their labor home with them. This is a tremendous idea and we would love to be able to help her.

We need some raised beds built and a lot of planting done.

Do you have any time to help?

Please contact Seth or Michelle at 503-953-6018 or wevegottimetohelp@q.com

COMPLETED Project 20 Moving appliances

We need a couple of strong backs and someone with a truck to help us for this quick job. We need to move a refrigerator and freezer from one part of a home to another and then we need to move a couch a couple of blocks down the road from the project site.

Does anyone have time to help?

Contact Seth or Michelle at 503-953-6018 or wevegottimetohelp@q.com

Thanks!

Project 19 Extreme Yard Makeover!

UPDATE 5/28: Louanne, Meri, Julie, Mel and Seth went out on one of the hottest days of the year and spent another great day making over the yard! We are so close now! We have the arbor posts in the ground and just need to attach a few more pieces and paint it. The yard is almost complete. We need to finish putting in the concrete pieces for the walkway and build the small concrete wall for the herb garden. After that, we just need to paint the small fence and we will be done. What a transformation is it already! Thanks to everyone who sweat their butt off to help a neighbor out! We will be going out next week to (hopefully) finish up!

Update 5/20: The next scheduled workday for this project is Thursday the 28th. All the supplies are there to build the arbor and lay the concrete path. We just need people who don't mind getting their hands dirty to help. Can we get another large group out there on the 28th to finish this up??

UPDATE 5/6: Trevor, Seth, Michelle and Meri headed out to Corbett and picked up the lumber needed for the arbor and concrete for the pathway. They delivered these items to the project site. Everything should be ready to go on the next work day!!

UPDATE 5/1: Meri, Seth, Julie and Louanne were back out there today! Rototilling, planting, digging and a whole lot of other tasks!! This yard is really starting to take shape. There will be at one, possibly two, more days and this project should be finished. We still need to build an arbor. We have the lumber and design ready to go thanks to Meri. We still need a load of gravel and a load of broken concrete chunks to make a walkway. There are quite a few offers of free gravel and concrete on CraigsList but we need a volunteer and truck to pick up these items. Even if you are unable to help on the next day but have some time to pick up and deliver these items please let us know!! When the next workday is chosen we will update everyone. Pictures of the transformation to come soon!!

UPDATE 4/18: Over a dozen volunteers showed up to help with this big project!! It was great to see so many people coming out to help others! We got about 75% completed, but there is still a little more work to do. We need an arbor built for a large grape, bricks placed around gardens and flower beds and some rototilling done around the yard. A big thank you to Aaron, Mel, Meri, Mary, Brooke, Kelli, Julie, Dwane, Cindi, Lucas, Ryan, Louanne, Abby and Seth for making this the biggest turn out we have had yet!! Thanks again to everyone!

Also, if anyone can help fix a small picket fence, both re-setting it and with a faulty gate, that would be awesome!

UPDATE 4/10: Next Wednesday, April 15th, starting at 10am we are going to amass the largest group of volunteer yard workers in history!! Not only are we going to help a deserving family but we bucking the system by not stressing over TAX DAY!! Instead, we will be raking, chopping, slicing, trimming, edging, cutting, digging, planting and mowing this yard into submission!!! So PLEASE, join us in this endeavor and show this yard who is boss!
Call 503-953-6018 to reserve your rake!! Or call to specify which yard tool you want reserved for your use.

UPDATE 4/8: Meri, a wonderful landscaping expert, went to help with this project Wednesday. She did a ton of weeding and other much needed work on this yard. She also brought quite a few plants and flowers that will be planted next Wednesday. Thanks so much Meri for all of your hard work and dedication!!

UPDATE 4/1: Seth and Mel headed out today to start the initial clean up. The weather was worse than expected and they both got soaking wet and cold but didn't call it quits!! Thanks to both of you for your hard work. We will schedule another date in the near future and hope the weather cooperates.

Update 3/20 Seth and Meri will be heading out to take a look and get a general plan going on Tuesday. Check back frequently for updates on this one!!!


This one will be lots of fun!

We were contacted a couple of days ago by a woman who really needs help with her yard. She has put most of her money into fixing up the inside of the home (which was destroyed by renters) and now needs a lot of ideas and dirty hands to help her out. She would really like a usable space for her, her daughter and their dog! She is more than happy to share some yard space so that others that don't have the space for gardens can grow some food.

This is her first home (she has lived in apartments most of her life) and she really needs help. She is more than happy to help with all the work that needs to happen, but she's just not sure of what to do or where to start. She really would like an organic garden with lots of veggies built but she is open to all ideas and suggestions.

What we would like to do is to get a few of us over there to formulate and actually draw out a plan. Michelle and Seth went over there on Saturday the 7th to see what needs to be done and to see what we have to work with. It's a fantastic yard with a TON of possibilities!

That being said, this is a big job! We figure this will be a multi-visit project. After our initial assessment, we can see the need for everything from a small picket fence that needs repair to (possibly) a retaining wall in the backyard. This job will include the front/back and side yards.

Like we said folks, this is a big job but very doable.

If you want to be involved on this project or if you have any ideas, please contact us at 503-953-6018 or wevegottimetohelp@q.com

Project 18 Auto Body Work

A woman had just saved up enough money to get her car repaired after an accident. Shortly after the original repairs were completed she was at the grocery store and the same portion of her car was damaged by someone who left the scene and did not leave any contact/insurance information. She had it evaluated at a repair shop and they indicated there was no structural damage, just cosmetic. She can not afford to have the car repaired a second time and contacted us to see if we have any volunteers willing to help out. If you can help this woman please give us a call at 503-953-6018 or email us at wevegottimetohelp@q.com.

COMPLETED Project 17 Medical Alert Bracelet

UPDATE: 3/20 One of our volunteers, Rodger, etched the phone number into the bracelet. Seth and Michelle will be dropping it off to her tomorrow. Another one of our volunteers, Jen, did some research and found a company called MedIDs.com that gives away free medical id cards that can be carried around. On top of this, MedIDs.com has a sponsorship section where they occasionally give away medical bracelets through private donations. If you want more info on this please contact their Director of Contributions> at 800-228-6222 ext 2466.

A woman has an 11 year old daughter that is a type 1 diabetic. The daughter has outgrown her medical alert bracelet so the mother is wondering if we have anyone who can add a couple of links and engrave their new phone number on the back. Due to her not being able to find a job in this tough economy, she is unable to purchase another one.

If you can help with this project please give us a call at 503-953-6018 or email us at wevegottimetohelp@q.com.

Monday, March 2, 2009

CANCELLED Project 16 - Wheelchair Ramp

UPDATE 3/19: We received an email from the person who originally contacted us. This project is off the table for now. If circumstances change in the future and they would like our help, we will send out the call for people with Time to Help. Thanks so much for everyone who was willing to volunteer time and resources for this cause. Don't stop offering help to others!!

UPDATE 3/9: The person who contacted us is gathering more information regarding supplies, measurements and availability. We will let everyone know as soon as we have more information.

Got time to help a family in need?

We just received an email from a wonderful couple whose close friends are going through some very rough times right now. Here is a recap of their email to us:

The woman just recently had a stroke and the husband has some rather severe heart issues and is on disability. They also have a teenage son. The woman would love to be able to come home to her family, but they have no wheelchair access (ramp) at their home and they might need some minor modifications to the inside so that she will be able to maneuver around.

Some or all of the materials can be purchased by the friends, but they can't afford to hire someone right now. This is exactly why we started We've Got Time to Help!

These are good people, they have worked hard all their lives and now they need a little help from us!

They live just about 5 miles outside Battleground Washington, so we were thinking we could pick a day for a group of us to go up there so that some of us could carpool. We would like to get this done as soon as possible so that she can come home!

Please let us know if you will join us on this most worthwhile cause!