Dear Editor,
We could not be more grateful for the assistance of Habitat for Humanity of Ogle County and their Brush with Kindness program for transforming our grandparent’s backyard into a safe and usable area again.
Time and age had not been kind to what once was the pride and joy of grandma and grandpa. An overwhelming amount of repair and clean up needed to be done to make the space accessible for them. Through HFHOC, “many hands made light work,” and now their backyard is a space they can enjoy again.

Many hours in hot and muggy temperatures were spent sledgehammering and hauling out tons of concrete, digging up heavily rebar-reinforced wooden structures and taming wildly overgrown plants. Once the clean up was completed, the crew got to work on replacing a rotted wooden deck with a leveled concrete patio, spreading grass seed to restore the lawn, adding handrails for safety, replacing broken garage doors, rebuilding broken fencing and more. 
There are no words to express our appreciation to the HFHOC board members and volunteers, D&C Concrete of Davis Junction, and Dale’s Overhead Garage Doors and More of Rochelle. Our grandparents are especially appreciative of HFHOC president Vanessa White-Broome for her patience and thorough explanations, for volunteer coordinator Gail Tuttle for her kindness and conversation, and project coordinators Don and Barb Roberts for their meticulous attention to detail, never-ending work ethic, and warm-hearted sense of humor.
“Helping one person may not change the world, but it can change the world for one person.”  Thank you to Habitat for Humanity of Ogle County for making this little corner of the world brighter for these two deserving people.
Matt and Lynn Kalnins
Chana