Home for the holidays: Christmas in April a true gift By NATHANAEL T. MILLER For the Blade-News
Those who say Christmas comes only once a year were not in Bowie April 26 when a horde of volunteers descended on three area homes to provide an "extreme makeover" for some residents in need. These Bowie homeowners found their walls painted, doors and windows fixed, and yards cleaned by Christmas in April*Prince George's County, a nondenominational organization of civic-minded citizens who spend one day a year refurbishing the homes of local seniors.
Christmas in April*Prince George's County has been serving the residents of the county since 1989. "This is our 20th year of doing repairs," said executive director Mary Kucharski. "This year we chose 92 people around the county. The only thing we require of the homeowner is that he or she be in the home the day of the event." Of the 92 people selected in Prince George's Country, three were in Bowie. Kucharski and her assistant are the only two paid employees. Otherwise, all donations and labor are provided by volunteers.
Vincent "Cap" Mona of Mona Electric Group in Clinton was one of the founding members of Christmas in April*Prince George's County. According to Mona, the movement "started in Midland, Texas, in 1972. A group of citizens got together to renovate the home of elderly residents, one of whom said it was 'just like Christmas … in April!' " The name stuck as the movement grew. Christmas in April arrived in the D.C. area in 1982, and Mona helped organize the Prince George's County organization in 1989. "We started the program and brought in the government, churches and others."
Today the national movement is known by the name "Rebuilding Together," and the local Christmas in April is no longer affiliated with it. When the national movement directed all affiliates to drop the "Christmas in April" name, the Prince George's County organization resisted and is now an independent county organization. Independence, however, does not mean Christmas in April*Prince George's County lacks for resources, volunteers or projects.
Mona said the organization has only a few requirements for those applying for help. "They've got to own their own home, and they have to fall within our category of needy." Mona said the year is spent getting materials together for a one-day blitz of work. "People donate money, people donate materials," Mona explained, "we get discounts from others. Except for Mary (Kucharski) and her assistant, it's only volunteers."
Kucharski explained the application process is very simple. "The deadline for applications is Nov. 1," she said. After that a selection committee picks the recipients based on need, and the owners are notified right around Christmastime. Once those selections are made, a "house captain" is named to supervise the actual work at a site. The time from Christmas until April is used to plan the work to be done. All of this is done by volunteers. "All these people have a heart of gold," Kucharski said.
This year Bowie homes on Endicott Drive, and Westmont and Beechtree lanes were swarmed by community volunteers looking to make a difference. Elaine Aleshire, daughter of the late City Councilman Bill Aleshire, was house captain for the Beechtree Lane project. After working with her father for nearly 18 years, this was her first time as a house captain, and she found the job both challenging and exciting.
With hammers pounding and chain saws roaring in the background, Aleshire said it's the volunteers who make the whole effort come together. "They're willing to work. They're, like, 'what do you want me to do?' " she said.
Many of the volunteers are part of other community groups already such as churches and local high schools. "I've got three groups here," Aleshire explained, "we have a church, the National Council of Negro Women, Bowie (High School) ROTC, and just the rest of the family."
Aleshire explained how she ended up captaining the Beechtree project. "When we sign up as house captain, we can choose what kind of home we get - a light, medium or heavy house," she said, referring to amount of work the house might require. Aleshire made only one request of the organization, "I said, 'Whatever my dad did,' and this is what I got." What she got was the Cape Cod-style home of longtime Bowie resident Nancy LeMaster.
LeMaster has been living on Beechtree Lane for 35 years and raised her family in the little home. Getting on in years, LeMaster found herself needing help to keep up with household maintenance. "A friend recommended me, and they checked me out and they gave me Christmas in April. It was a surprise to me!" LeMaster smiled and played with her pet pug as she told her story. "I got a letter from the head of the organization, and then a few weeks later Elaine called me. Later they came out and checked the house."
Christmas in April*Prince George's County's reach is so long that even residents of Laurel in Anne Arundel County came to help. Tamara Hamilton, a member of the NCNW, joined her Prince George's County sisters for the day's work. "I thought this was great. We can come here and clean up somebody's yard. I look forward to it every year." Hamilton was wielding a rake as she and the other ladies of the NCNW tackled the vines and weeds that had taken over LeMaster's yard.
Bowie's young people were well represented in the melee of volunteer labor as several cadets from Bowie High School's Navy ROTC bent their backs to help. Chelsia Weller, 16, is the ROTC's community service officer. In that job, the sophomore is responsible for organizing ROTC involvement in community events. "I went to Ms. Aleshire to get the information I needed," Weller said. She initially worried that getting the cadets to sign up would be difficult, but was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't. "I thought it was going to be hard, but once I put signs out I had 20-something people come up to me." The cadets were lugging tree limbs and other debris out of LeMaster's back yard to the trash pile.
Mona said he doubts Christmas in April*Prince George's County will ever fade away. "We've been a fixture in this county for 20 years. We have a track record of helping people." He also believes one of the underlying strengths of the movement is that most people recognize how easily a "change of luck" could land them in the position of needing help, and therefore they want to give to their neighbors. "But for the sake of luck, any of us could be in their position," Mona said.
Now, on the appointed day, LeMaster is one of the homeowners in Bowie that is receiving the community's efforts. LeMaster was so grateful she went out and bought doughnuts and coffee for the volunteers, something that is not required. She could not keep the emotion out of her voice as she watched her house being spruced up, her electricity being fixed, and her yard cleaned, "It's wonderful, it's truly a blessing from God!"
