Hundreds Turn Out for the ‘Big Fix’ to Help Brewster Home Owners

CCB MEDIA PHOTO: Volunteers work on a house along Route 6A in Brewster Saturday during the annual Big Fix

BREWSTER – Hundreds of volunteers worked to make small improvements to more than a dozen homes in Brewster Saturday for veterans, seniors and disabled residents.

Volunteers for the Housing Assistance Corporation’s annual Big Fix worked to clean yards, haul trash, make small repairs and move heavy items.

“People get older and they can’t do stuff and they should be able to keep their homes,” said Liz Belcher, a site coordinator for the Big Fix. “And for people to just show up on a Saturday just for thanks and fun, and it actually is pretty fun, is a really impressive thing. I think it’s fantastic.”

One of the homes that received work on Saturday belongs to John Mara, a 91-year-old World War II veteran, and his wife Antoinette. Volunteers cleaned up the yard of loose leaves and other plants and removed and replaced the mulch.

“The people are so good, so kind,” said Antoinette. “And I think the Cape is that. It is.”

Work was also done at the home of Joan Graham. Her home was built in 1856 and on the National Register of Historic Homes. Graham, who has lived in the home for 38 years, said she was also thankful for the work done by the volunteers.

“It’s very exciting. It’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s an amazing organizational feat that they’ve done here.”

Since the events inception in 2010 more than 1,000 volunteers have worked at dozens of homes from Bourne to Dennis. This year’s event in Brewster was the furthest the Big Fix has traveled east of the Cape Cod Canal.

Last year’s event was held in Bourne and next year it heads to Falmouth.