Helping Hands in the Hills returns for second year

Last year, 300 Vestavia Hills residents gathered in Wald Park. Team by team, they trickled out to various locations in Vestavia Hills to help out those in need. 

This fall, the Chamber of Commerce is hosting its second Helping Hands in the Hills service day. The program is scheduled for Sept. 10 from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers again will meet at Wald Park to get instructions for projects and head to the assigned sites. 

“If we can have the same turnout as last year, I will be thrilled. I thought it was an incredible number for a first-time event,” said Karen Odle, president of the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce. 

Each year, the chamber reaches out to senior citizens and those with disabilities and special needs, asking if they need assistance with weeding, raking leaves and other household tasks. E-recyling and shredding stations also will be in the parking lot near the pool in Wald Park.

After composing a list of projects, the chamber will recruit volunteers by contacting organizations across the community. Families and individuals can register through the chamber’s website. 

“Last year, a World War II veteran asked for help with pressure washing his fences,” Odle said. “That may seem like a small task, but it was the least we could do for him after he served our country.”

Two-time past chamber President Scott Perry was among the 300 locals who participated in last year’s Helping Hands in the Hills service day. His team had 12 people, including his family and members of the chamber.

The team helped an elderly woman, who had previously lost her husband, clean the house she had lived in for 50 years along with the surrounding areas. 

Perry’s daughter and friends cleaned the bathtub and rooms within the house, while the adults trimmed the trees and focused on yard work. 

“When we finished, the lady wanted to address us all as a group. It was really special to see her gratitude,” Perry said. “It was also a lot of fun to work with kids of all ages and friends from the chamber.”

Perry said he plans to participate again this September. Denton Lunceford, the former community service chair for the Vestavia Hills Sunrise Rotary Club, said he would be back again, too.

“The lady [we helped] wrote the kindest of letters we ever received,” Lunceford said. “It was amazing because we were only there for about an hour working at her house. The small hour seemed nothing to us, but it was a tremendous help to her.” 

His team of about six people assisted a woman who was disabled and could not tend to her yard and household tasks.

“We are always looking for opportunities to give back to the community,” Lunceford said. “When we heard about Helping Hands in the Hills, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to do so.”