Habitat for Humanity: 10 Minneapolis homes get facelift

When Veronica Smith looked at her house Friday morning, tears came to her eyes.

About 20 mostly middle-aged folks had gathered at her house to repair the trim on her back window, replace her gutters, trim her lilac bushes and give her home a new coat of paint.

"I felt like I won the lottery," Smith said.

The volunteers were part of a blitz of benevolence to mark the 40th anniversary of Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group Architecture. More than 200 employees, many from branches across the nation, came to north Minneapolis to give 10 low-income homeowners a hand with home improvement.

"We just wanted to do something that we could accomplish in one special day," company founder John Cuningham said. He estimated the day's work would cost the firm $100,000. "This is about giving back to the community."

Teamed with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and its "A Brush With Kindness" program, the volunteers helped with painting, landscaping and minor repair work.

After her husband left her in 2005, Smith, 50, said she found herself single-handedly carrying the mortgage on her house. The cost of the mortgage, utility bills and medication for her diabetes drained her wallet. As the house fell deeper into disrepair, she became depressed.

Sharon Rolenc, a spokeswoman for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, said those kinds of emotions are common when homes are restored.

"This is a way to help restore dignity for many of these homeowners," Rolenc said. "A lot of these folks have lived in these houses for decades and kept them up well. But as they age and get on a fixed income, it becomes harder and harder to maintain their houses."

Those words resonated with Marjorie Roundtree, 55, who has lived in her home in the Willard-Hay neighborhood for 35 years. She inherited it after her mother died three years ago.

Roundtree said the city sent her a notice last December telling her to fix her garage -- which had paint peeling and chipped woodwork -- or face a $1,600 fine. She said she couldn't afford either the repair or the fine on her $1,800-a-month salary and felt desperate.

"This is my parents' house and I know they wouldn't want me to lose it," Roundtree said.

"I wish my mom and dad were alive so they could see that I'm doing what I can to keep the house," she said.

Carrie Fleming, 69, said her Willard-Hay home -- with one side painted in four different colors -- was often ridiculed even by her own children.

"My kids used to walk in here and say, 'Momma, you have the ugliest house on the block,'" Fleming said. "I was ashamed of it."

She said she didn't have much to give back to the 30 volunteers -- who cleaned up her yard, replaced the broken front window and painted her house. But she planned to grill hamburgers for them and said she would present Habitat for Humanity with a certificate of appreciation.

"It would cost thousands to do the repairs these guys are doing," Fleming said. "Everything they see up front, they fix it. I'm incredibly thankful."