The alley was completely overgrown.
Grass stood ankle-high, tree limbs met in the middle in some areas while tattered rugs and other debris sat throughout.
“Look at this,” said Josh Christman, Walbridge Executive Director of Business Development, pointing to a mattress that stood at the entrance of the alley. “Bet this is going to look very different very soon.”
And for the next several hours, the alley was a flurry of activity as Walbridge, DFM Solutions and customer, FCA, spent the day cleaning up their neighborhood.
Teams took down brush, while others swept and mowed, while still others dragged downed tree limbs, and debris to the adjacent street for removal.
“I knew our team was going to take care of it, but it certainly was a challenge,” Christman said. “The transformation was incredible but furthermore, everyone was just excited to help out in our community.”
The task was tall, though.
“When I first laid eyes on that alley – which looked like a jungle – I thought how are we going to handle this?” Cost Control Coordinator Jennifer Pasha said. “Well, we embraced the moment and got the job done. When we were done you could see from one end of the alley to the other end – Amazing!”
Life Remodeled’s 2019 project had the help of nearly 10,000 people and was “able to address 257 heavily blighted alleyways surrounding the Durfee Innovation Society, host a summer camp for 125 children and a basketball camp for 37 youth, and (a) Family Fun Day (with the largest bounce house in the world) drew in more than 3,000 Detroit kids and their families.”
Walbridge, DFM Solutions and Devon Industrial Group previously volunteered to support efforts surrounding the Durfee Innovation Society.
Projects are determined by the community’s needs and vision, and Life Remodeled assists in three areas: Renovating and repurposing former community assets, repairing owner-occupied homes, and mobilizing 10,000 volunteers to beautify 300 city blocks in six days
Working with our customer, FCA, the team wanted to make an impact locally and the natural decision was to support efforts with Life Remodeled.
Nearby residents thanked the team for their efforts and Pasha even had the chance to chat with one elderly resident who told her the history of the neighborhood and expressed appreciation for the hard work.
“The most heartfelt thing for me was when I was clearing away some weeds from the back of a fence the little elderly lady who lived there came out, using her cane, to say how much she appreciated what we were doing,” Pasha said. “She was so happy and so grateful. She kept saying that she was going to pay someone to do the work for her, but I told her not to worry we were here now, and we were all happy to do the job! Her happiness made me feel like I was 10 feet tall!”