Christian Service Center to help repair home – Sentinel-Standard

The Christian Service Center is raising funds to help a local man with disabilities fix up his home.

IONIA The Christian Service Center is raising funds to help a local man with disabilities fix up his home.

Karl Homes is a Lyons resident who is in his 70s and lives on Riverside Drive. Dureen Leland is the president of Church Women United and manager of the Christian Service Center. She said the groups undertook the project after seeing his home needed help.

"My aunt and I went over to power wash his house, because it was in bad shape," Leland said. "Then we noticed that his wheelchair ramp, the rails were ready to fall down and the top they put plywood on top of it ... so if you stepped on it, it squished down like you were going to go right through."

After power washing and noticing the wheelchair ramp was in need of fixing, she said she noticed two trees that needed to be cut down. She said one was splitting down the middle, while the other looked like it would fall over and hit the home.

"Then we started trying to get money around for his trees to get them taken down and then three of us fell into a hole in his yard, so we went down to Piercefield's and he brought some dirt up, so we're going to spread that in his yard to get rid of his hole," Leland said.

Leland said she kept finding more to do and they plan to get some paint to fix up his shed and get more dirt if they need it. Someone also told her the roof looks like it could be repaired.

The Christian Service Center is collecting the money and hopes to raise $1,000 to cover all the expenses to cut the trees down, fix the ramp, paint the shed and fill the holes. Leland figured out that of the money Homes receives monthly, it just about covers his bills.

"The ramp and stuff, I don't know how much it will cost," Leland said. "A guy from the Lyons-Muir Church bought all the wood for it and sturdied up the rails and we just have to power wash the rails and it will be OK, so we saved some money there."

The center sells new and used clothes, kitchen items, shoes, movies, books, decor and many other things for less than $1 a piece. It's located at 301 W. Washington St. in Ionia and is open on Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

There are canisters to donate money at the Christian Service Center, Habitat for Humanity of Ionia County and the Lumbermill Inn in Muir. Leland said Habitat is trying to work with the organization to help out.

"We keep thinking of other things to do, if we have other money we can do this," Leland said. "He was happy about that. I think whatever money we have left we'll buy him some food, too, and stuff like that."

For more information, call 616-527-1530 or visit facebook.com/Christian-Service-Center-630223270502699.

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Christian Service Center to help repair home - Sentinel-Standard