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November 16, 2003
Rakers leave no leaf unturned in good will effort for seniors
Rakers leave no leaf unturned in good will effort for seniors
By Fred Lucas THE NEWS-TIMES
The News-Times/Silas Crews
Eddie Butt, 15, left, uses a blower to move a pile of leaves gathered by fellow volunteer Sachin Jhawar, 17, at the “Rake ’N’ Bake” event Saturday.
Rakers leave no leaf unturned
in good will effort for seniors
By Fred Lucas
THE NEWS-TIMES
Volunteers covered the Danbury area the way leaves cover a lawn in late fall.
On a brisk Saturday morning, 830 volunteers gathered in 50 teams to rake lawns of seniors and the less fortunate. After that, they were treated to hot dogs and desserts.
This was all part of the sixth annual “Rake ’N’ Bake” event, sponsored by Handy Dandy Handyman Ministries in Brookfield.
“I’m just doing it to help out,” said Jake Melville, a senior at Brookfield High School and member of the cross country team. He is the captain of a team that consists of the school’s cross country and girls varsity soccer team. “It’s just a fun thing to do to help out the community.”
The group was raking and blowing leaves at a home on Obtuse Hill Road in Brookfield.
Karla Hargrave, a Brookfield High School senior on the cross country team, said both young and old are in teams.
“There are a lot of adults. We’ve got ages from six months to 81,” she joked. “We’ve got neighborhood groups, church groups and people from Danbury, Bridgewater and Newtown raking.”
Homes in Brookfield, Bridgewater, Danbury and New Milford were raked.
Peter Brady, who founded and organizes the event, said the homes are selected on an as needed basis, or people in need can contact St. Joseph’s Church in Brookfield.
The rakers gathered at St. Joseph’s after they were finished, where they ate hot dogs for lunch and cookies, brownies and other desserts baked by homeowners they served. Thus, the name “Rake ’N’ Bake.”
“We rake, they bake,” Brady said.
In 1998, Brady, his wife and three daughters wanted to volunteer to help senior citizens. They were joined by five more people, and raked leafs for two homes before going out for pizza and naming the day “Rake ’N’ Bake.”
Last year the event grew to have 517 volunteers, and had over 300 more this year. Brady said the event cost $1,500 to put on.
The Rev. Tommy Thomas, at St. Peter’s Church in Danbury, participated with a group that raked leaves at a home on Junction Road in Brookfield.
“It’s wonderful,” he said. “There is such a large number of people involved for community service. The greatest joy is seeing so many young people involved.”
The yard work and the food are free, as it’s all done in the name of the Lord and the Holy Spirit, Brady said.
Amy Richards, a freshman soccer player at Brookfield High School, said the fact that it’s volunteer work makes it better.
“I thought it might be tedious, but it’s not with friends here,” she said. “We’re not paid. But that sort of makes it more fun because we’re not doing it for money. We’re doing it to be nice.”
Contact Fred Lucas
at flucas@newstimes.com
or at (203) 731-3358.
Posted by hdhm at 06:51 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2003
Volunteer rakers go where the leaves are Ministry offers help to those who need it
Volunteer rakers go where the leaves are
Ministry offers help to those who need it
By Heather Barr THE NEWS-TIMES
BROOKFIELD — Tackling 50 leafy lawns in about 2½ hours sounds a bit strenuous for a Saturday morning, but not for 830 volunteers raking and blowing leaves at the sixth annual Rake ’N Bake.
The event is sponsored by the Handy Dandy Handyman Ministry, a spiritual organization that does community service activities for those in need through St. Joseph Church in Brookfield.
At 8 a.m., individuals, Boy and Girl Scout troops and area youth groups will meet at the church to move out and rake the lawns of people who are unable to do so and/or can’t afford to hire someone to do it.
The lawns are in Danbury, New Milford, Bridgewater and Brookfield.
“It is a great service because it is really expensive to hire someone to do this,” said Brookfield’s Norma Fogarty, who will get her lawn raked. “People get to help their neighbors and get to know their neighbors.”
“It’s lots of fun,” said Whisconier Middle School eighth-grader Liz Hegarty, 13, of Brookfield, who has volunteered at the event for about four years. “You get to meet people from around town.”
She is the captain of a team of 23 people, which includes her mother, Beth Hegarty. They will rake her grandmother Helen Fiddner’s lawn. Liz said her grandmother has gotten too old to do it herself.
“There are lots of trees around her house,” she said. “It is a big job to do.”
Last year, 517 volunteers raked 42 customers’ lawns.
“It’s incredible,” said retiree Peter Brady, organizer of the ministry. “(The number of volunteers) is way beyond my expectations.”
Brady said lawns would be raked simultaneously, with about 15 to 30 people per lawn.
The ministry cannot accept any more volunteers or lawns to be raked.
All volunteers at the Rake ’N Bake will receive a door prize ticket for one of three prizes.
At the end of the day, volunteers and customers are served hot dogs and salads with baked desserts at St. Joseph Church’s parking lot.
The ministry is asking for donations to pay for the roughly $1,200 worth of food. All donations are tax free. So far, $700 has been collected.
Checks can be made payable to HDHM Ministry and mailed to Peter Brady, 26 Shamrock Drive, Brookfield, CT 06804. Checks can also be deposited at a table at the event.
Contact Heather Barr
at hbarr@newstimes.com
or at (203) 731-3331.
Posted by hdhm at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)