By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
While Home Depot may be a frequent destination for do-it-yourselfers, Ontario’s Home Depot came through in a big way for one Crestline family who wasn’t in a position to do it themselves.
Thanks to a grant of nearly $2,000 from the Home Depot Foundation via the United Way of Crawford County and some volunteers including Home Depot employees and the local United Way, the John Gregory family is getting some much-needed repairs and remodeling to their South Street home.
Gregory, who is a Vietnam-era veteran, cares for his wife who needs assistance for physical problems. The couple also has a special needs daughter at home.
“At this stage of our lives, I just lost my income and going into retirement, we wouldn’t have been able to afford to put this kind of work into the house,” Gregory said. “So this means a lot.”
Wednesday’s snowstorm deterred no one on Thursday when it came to getting the work done, which includes a new bathroom from plumbing to floors, a cabinet and a coat of paint, a door to the bedroom and work on the family’s front porch.
United Way of Crawford County Executive Director Amber Wertman says credit for the Home Depot Foundation grant goes to the Ontario store’s Paint Department supervisor who was assisting Gregory when he was at the store trying to determine just what it would take to fix up the bathroom.
“That is the coolest part of it,” Wertman said. “He was was in the store and he and Judy Scott just started talking. She (Scott) said, ‘You know what, I’m going to do something for you.’”
Wertman added, “It took that one person saying, ‘I want to help.’”
What Scott did was put the plans in motion for the local United Way to apply for a grant from the Home Deport Foundation to assist the Gregory’s. As far as the work, Scott had the answer for that too.
“We have volunteers that get together when a project like this comes up,” Scott said. “It’s an emotional connection to the community.”
The group of people that assembled to work on the Gregory’s home included Mike Foust who headed up all the work needed on the bathroom floor. In the house Thursday was Home Depot’s store manager, Dan Berger, who was making sure all the right supplies were there and work was done to the Gregory’s satisfaction.
Wertman was amazed at how easily and quickly the grant and project came together. She noted it was the first time a Home Depot Foundation grant and project had been done in Crawford County.