On Saturday morning, the Gonzalez family’s house in Hoffman Estates was bustling with activity.
A swarm of volunteers was scraping away damaged wallpaper in the kitchen and hallway. They also were washing walls and floors, sweeping debris, painting nearly every room, fixing broken door hinges and replacing moldy floor tiles and warped closet doors.
By late afternoon, the house on Maricopa Lane, which was badly damaged from prolonged flooding, was starting to look good as new.
“I’m speechless,” said Iris Gonzalez, 51. “I have no words. I don’t know how to thank them.”
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The Gonzalezes’ house was one of 27 homes in suburban Cook County repaired Saturday by Christmas in April Northwest Suburban Chicago, a non-profit organization in Arlington Heights that fixes residences of the elderly, disabled and low-income.
The local organization is an affiliate of Christmas in April USA, which was expected to rehabilitate about 4,500 houses in 520 cities and towns nationwide on Saturday.
Christmas in April is an annual event held on the last Saturday in April whose goal is to keep people living independently in warm, safe houses. The money and material for the repairs is donated by businesses, organizations, private groups and individuals.
More than 500 volunteers worked on the homes in suburban Cook County, which included residences in Arlington Heights, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg, Palatine, Park Ridge, Buffalo Grove and Mt. Prospect.
The Gonzalezes’ house was selected for the Christmas in April Northwest program after officials from the organization heard about the family’s inability to have it repaired.
This month, a group of union plumbers and carpenters banded with local businesses to dry out the house and fix broken pipes. Area hotels and apartments temporarily provided the Gonzalezes with free housing.
“I don’t even know what to say,” said Iris Gonzalez. “I didn’t realize we had so many helping hands in the community, so many people who care.”