« January 2002 | Main | December 2002 »
November 23, 2002
Handyman honored as a ‘treasure’
Handyman honored as a ‘treasure’
By Heather Barr THE NEWS-TIMES
Brookfield handyman Peter Brady receives the “Connecticut Treasures” award from Lt. Gov. Jodi Rell. Brady was honored for his volunteer work.
BROOKFIELD — When an elderly woman in the community needed help learning to operate her new computer, she called on Handy Dandy Handyman Peter Brady.
Brady, in turn, sent out an e-mail to find a student interested in helping.
Newtown High School ninth-grader Katie Winkler, 14, stepped up. She went with Brady to meet the senior citizen Friday, and will give the woman free computer help as needed.
“It was a good opportunity,” said Winkler, who likes to volunteer.
That’s how Brady’s program, offered through St. Joseph’s Church, works. Over the past two years, he and his Handy Dandy Handyman volunteers have done free odd jobs to help about 185 families.
“This is a holy spirit driven organization,” he said. “There is instant gratification. When you leave, you have a satisfied customer.”
That spirit of helpfulness earned him state recognition this week. Brady, 61, received the November “Connecticut Treasures” award from Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell Friday for his volunteerism.
Rell, of Brookfield, established the award to recognize individual and group volunteers who have worked to make their communities better.
“It is a tremendous honor,” said Brady. “It was totally unexpected.”
But it was not so unexpected to those who have received his help.“His outreach is spectacular,” said Helen Fiddner, 77, of Brookfield.
Brady and a friend of hers helped clean and paint the inside of her garage, cleaned her basement and worked on other rooms in her house. “It really builds community,” she said of his efforts.
Brady retired in February 2000 from Nestle USA Research Development Co., where he was director of purchasing.
In March 2000, he started the program after the church pastor asked him to rake two people’s lawns. He and his family did the job, and began to think of the others in town who need help around the house.
He helps senior citizens and those physically unable to do the work themselves, those who can’t afford help or those who want to donate to the church fund that helps pay the cost of projects for others.
“The concept is one customer helping the next customer,” he said.
Odd jobs range from changing light bulbs and setting mouse traps to painting the exterior of someone’s home.
He gets jobs by word of mouth, doing some on his own and getting volunteer help with others. He works on the projects four to six days a week.
“A lot of jobs are new to me,” he said, so he relies on help from expert volunteers who do electrical, plumbing and fine carpentry.
Brady said his volunteers ranging in age from 8 to their 80s.
Some 517 people raked leaves for 41 different customers at Brady’s sixth annual “Rake ‘n’ Bake” community raking event Nov. 9.
Janet Davis, 41, of Brookfield has been volunteering with Brady for a few years.
“He has done a fabulous job in that ministry,” said Davis. “He is no doubt worthy of the award today.”
Contact Heather Barr
at hbarr@newstimes.com
or at (203) 731-3331
Posted by hdhm at 06:49 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2002
Rakers take no pay for helping elderly
Rakers take no pay for helping elderly
By Joe Gould THE NEWS-TIMES
The News-Times/ Michael Duffy
Timmy Loughlan rakes leaves during the sixth annual Rake ’n’ Bake Saturday at St. Joseph’s Church in Brookfield.
BROOKFIELD — When Patrick Clarke grabbed hold of the industrial-size leaf blower, vibration shot through his hands and shook his entire 9-year-old body.
How much fun did he have on Saturday?
“On a scale of one to one-hundred?” Clarke asked. “One-hundred. It was so much fun.”
Platoons of volunteers deployed from St. Joseph’s Church raked the yards of senior citizens on Saturday as part of the church’s sixth annual “Rake ‘n’ Bake.”
Clarke, who made a new friend and got to play in a leaf-filled pit, was one of hundreds of volunteers who raked dozens of yards on Saturday morning.
It’s all about the joy of helping others, said organizer Peter Brady.
“It’s the experience of giving and not expecting anything in return and the good feeling you get when you give,” said Brady, as a hot dog luncheon was wrapping up in the church parking lot.
The News-Times/ Michael Duffy
Peter Brady serves a hot dog to Jim Thomas.
Jessica Holko, 17, said her church youth group got a good feeling raking leaves for an elderly woman who thanked them with homemade brownies.
“It was great because she really appreciated it,” Holko said. “It was nice to do something for somebody.”
Alex Brescia, owner of Preferred Lawn Service, donated the use of his company’s equipment because what goes around comes around. “It was to help people out,” Brescia said. “One day, maybe people will help me out.”
Brady is known in Brookfield as the founder of “Handy Dandy Handyman,” a St. Joseph’s-based group of volunteers who help senior citizens and the infirm.
They accept no money and perform their work in the name of the Holy Spirit. The bulk of what they do could be described as odd jobs, but they also give Christmas gifts at local nursing homes, and have been known to sing Christmas carols on request.
Brady said the idea for the handyman service and the “Rake ’n’ Bake” began when the former pastor of St. Joseph’s had Brady and some helpers to rake two yards in 1989. “I realized people need help around their homes, not just raking leaves,” Brady said.
From there, Brady also arranged to turn the raking into a community event. It’s grown dramatically in recent years, he said. Last year’s event had 375 volunteers and 28 homes. This year had 500 volunteers and 41 homes.
Consider that First Selectman Martin Foncello and his family took part. Consider that one of the teams, from Cendant Mobility, had 22 people and scoured leaves from an 89-year-old woman’s 1½-acre property.
Frank Santi, 66, is a typical customer. Santi, who is retired, said raking leaves is no longer easy work for him. He would have raked in stages to clear his own property, which is two-thirds of an acre.
On Saturday, a crew of 18 people zipped through in hours.
“It was like a wave,” Santi said. “They sweep it right up.”
To volunteer with Handy Dandy Handyman, e-mail Brady at Peterbrady26@aol.com.
Contact Joe Gould
at jgould@newstimes.com
or at (203) 426-3711.
Posted by hdhm at 06:59 PM | Comments (0)