Charter Our Community Helps Local Oxford Family #Charterourcommunity

This post was sponsored by Charter Communications as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central.

Often, large corporations seem like nothing more than a logo and a place we pay our bills to. We don’t see the people behind them, or any of the good they do in the community. I was invited to visit a Charter Our Community event this past weekend hosted by Charter Communications. The event gathered more than 25 volunteers from different Charter Communications offices and Rebuilding Together to help give back to the local community.

Charter Our Community is Charter Communications way to give back to residents in their service area. The program helps create safe homes to residents in need as well as providing education, resources and financial support. The goal of Charter Our Community is to improve 25,000 homes in their service area by the year 2020, and to date they have completed over 1,100 homes. Each project is unique and volunteers may be doing lawn work, painting or doing repairs on the home. Everything done on a Charter Our Community project is to help improve the home and the sense of home for the homeowner.

This weekend’s project was a home in Oxford, Michigan, located in Oakland County. As volunteers gathered the task was created and included everything from repairing the front deck, replacing doors and windows, fixing a fence and cleaning up the yard. Some elements of the project began before the work crew got there including gutting a bathroom where floor boards needed to be replaced. Other items of the project will continue after the work day by professionals like tree trimming and fixing a pool at the back of the property.

Charter Our Community projects are selected from applications submitted by the home owner or people in their community. The project in Oxford was actually submitted by the village for the home owner Debbie Brown. Ms. Brown is a single mother who is raising her adult special needs son Tim. She purchased the house a few years ago after leaving a rental home and wanting a place for her family. While working seven days a week and caring for her family, Debbie hasn’t had time do some of the repairs to the home or yard work. Debbie isn’t one to ask for help, and was emotionally overwhelmed by the experience. She described the experience as “humbling” and was thankful for every volunteer that participated.

When I first arrived at the event, I wasn’t exactly sure what was expected of me for the day. Besides documenting the event, I’d rather get my hands dirty and help where I can. But throughout the day I was able to assist from removing items from the basement, cleaning up the yard as well as painting the living area and dining room area. While the projects I was working on was small, each helped towards the final project and providing a better place for the Brown’s to live in.

The Charter our Community event began at 8 am, and I was amazed that by 10 am the majority of the yard work was done already and the dumpster was mostly full. You could see a visible difference on the property and the Browns were thrilled with the chances they could see and experience already. Ms. Brown mentioned that the amount of work done in a couple hours was more than she could accomplish on her own in weeks.

The transformations of the home and yard may not seem like a lot to some people, but having a safe home is something that everyone should have access to. Charter Our Community provides that for homeowners while giving their employees and others the opportunity to give back. It was an amazing experience, and I hope the Brown family enjoy the updates to their home and yard.