Virginia Fuller Center partners to restore house

By Bennie Scarton Jr. 
Manassa Journal Messenger (Virginia)

Manassas, Va. — Two local nonprofit organizations are teaming up to repair a Dumfries townhome that will be sold to a low-income family whose hopes and dreams of owning a home will also be restored.

Four people–Jacob Koch and Peter Salemme, from the Northern Virginia Fuller Center for Housing Jobs in Alexandria, as well as Andrea Saccoccia and Bill Okuly from Project Mend-A-House in Manassas, recently spent an evening assessing the magnitude of the project and dividing the responsibilities of required repairs and home makeovers of the foreclosed townhome.

It was agreed that Project Mend-A-House volunteers will patch the drywall, repair the bathrooms and decking, and replace floors, broken windows, and remove junk, including the soda machine in the backyard.

Fuller Center volunteers will replace the kitchen floors, countertops and insulation, and paint the entire home.

Their goal is to combine forces with other local faith-based and civic organizations, high schools and businesses to complete all repairs by mid-April.

At that time, the neglected and vacant townhome will come alive when one very fortunate low-income family brings to life their hopes and dreams as they move in and take ownership of this home, bought by Catholics for Housing.

"Our organizations are committed to making the dream of home ownership a reality for all residents, particularly low income residents," Saccoccia said. "This unique partnership will enable us to do that, one home at a time." Continue reading >>


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