
Photo by Alyx Chandler
Vestavia's third annual Helping Hands in the Hills, sponsored by the city of Vestavia and the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce, gathered different groups at Wald Park before beginning the morning of volunteering to help keep the city looking beautiful.
The fourth annual Helping Hands in the Hills event is set for Saturday, Sept. 8, with about 300 volunteers set to help the city’s senior citizens and disabled residents.
Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce President Karen Odle said teams of six to eight people from churches, businesses and other organizations will meet at the Wald Park pavilion at 8:30 a.m., where refreshments will be provided.
From there, teams will be assigned to different homes where senior citizens and disabled residents have requested help for minor projects, such as yard work, moving furniture, putting boxes in the attic and other household chores, Odle said. Applicants fill out a form requesting help, and the chamber will screen those requests to make sure they are truly an eligible resident, Odle said.
“We want to show we are indeed trying to make our community a better place to live for everyone,” Odle said.
The event may have sparked area churches to start similar programs, Odle said. After the teams are done, an optional lunch will be provided.
The number of volunteers has stayed steady over the years, Odle said.
“I’ve been very proud of the community,” Odle said. “... We do it for the rightreasons.”
In addition to the teams helping residents, Odle said the city will provide shredding, e-recycling, medication take-back and hazardous waste disposal from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Wald Park pool parking lot.