EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) – Volunteers spent Saturday making sure a Lane County military family has an unforgettable Christmas.
A second home is near completion as part of Saint Vincent de Paul’s “Vets Housing Project.”
The house they are working on is located on 39th and Hilyard in south Eugene. It sat vacant for nearly a decade and was foreclosed on by Lane County due to property taxes.
Local businesses, contractors and volunteers donated tens of thousands of dollars in labor and materials to remodel it. Before the work, the exterior walls of the house were covered with ivy, so much of it that neighbors called it "the ghost house." Inside, contractors took the house down to the studs, replacing nearly everything inside.
"Watching all of the volunteers willing to give up their Saturday morning to come out here an actually have fun working on this together. I'm just really proud of the community. In these economic times, they still find time to donate their time, products and everything else to this,” said Ed McMahon, Vice President of the Lane County Home Builders Association.
Saint Vincent de Paul will rent the home to a returning military veteran family within the next few weeks.
