A clean home is a happy home
DEVIN HEILMAN/Press Windermere realtor Amanda Cutting is all smiles Friday morning as she paints around a window in the Moyer House of Children's Village. About 65 agents and title company colleagues volunteered about 500 labor hours to cleaning and accomplishing other projects for the nonprofit.
Photos by DEVIN HEILMAN/Press Jessica Hutchins tosses vegetation from the volleyball court edge into a wheelbarrow Friday as Windermere agent Josh Suhr prepares to wheel it away during the Windermere Community Service Day at Children’s Village. Realtors Stefan Smith, left, and Steve Huffaker also worked to clear the court.
Windermere agents Duffy Smock, right, and Danny Griffin clear gutters on the roof of one of the Children’s Village homes Friday morning. This was the 17th consecutive year Windermere chose to spend its Community Service Day assisting the nonprofit, which serves as a home for kids in crisis.
COEUR d’ALENE — Windermere Realtors cleaned, weeded, painted, raked, mowed and scrubbed.
And as she observed their diligent work, Children’s Village director Rosa Mettler smiled.
"Windermere is probably our best friend," she said Friday morning over the hum of weed trimmers and pressure washers. "They come every year. We just can't keep up this place without them."
For the 17th consecutive year, local Windermere agents spent their Windermere Community Service Day sprucing up the grounds and homes of Children's Village. They focused on the gutters, the volleyball court, the lawns and landscaping, the kitchens, the walls that needed paint and pretty much anything else they could take care of for the nonprofit.
"You hate to see the care providers mowing lawns or weeding," said Windermere Realtor and Community Service Day organizer Dick Jurvelin. "We want them in there where the kids are. That's where they need to be, to take care of them, to nurture them, to help them move through their situations."
Children's Village is a home for children who are in need of sanctuary from crises they may be facing, such as homelessness, abuse or neglect. The organization depends on donations to support its kiddos and keep them happy and healthy through the tough times; according to its website, Children's Village receives less than 5 percent of its funding though the state of Idaho.
"Our heart's here," Jurvelin said. "You make this a home for the kids that end up being here to be taken care of. The prettier you can make it, it makes them feel a lot better. And after 17 years, we're finally catching on to what to do."
Children's Village also recently received some love from the Coeur Group, a public-spirited group of businessmen that donates time and funds to charitable causes.
"They did the basketball courts and the playground equipment. That was just last week actually," Mettler said. "The old (playground) was literally falling over. We couldn't let the kids play on it anymore."
Windermere Community Service Day pulls agents out of the office to make a positive difference in their community through hard work and good will. This year, the agents along with title company colleagues and other pals — about 70 all together — contributed around 500 labor hours to beautify Children's Village.
"It’s awesome that the whole office gets to come down and help them out,” said Realtor Amanda Cutting, who helped paint a living room. "It’s nice that we can all come together as the Windermere family and make it happen."