By BRIAN SERAILE and REBECCA MARCH
NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs

PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD— Nancy Wagener was near tears as she thanked the dozens of volunteers who showed up at her Great Mills, Md., home the morning of April 26.

Just the sight of so many volunteers gave her a lump in her throat, she said. And that was before the painting, mulching, cleaning and repairing had even begun.

When she returned from her daughter’s home that evening, she said she was amazed.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” she said. “It was just fabulous.”

Wagener’s sentiments were felt around the county as 1,600 volunteers converged on 30 homes, an environmental center and a church community center to make whatever repairs and sprucing up that they could.

Christmas in April T-shirts were the uniform of the day as volunteers from Pax River and throughout the region joined with the community in rehabilitating the homes of low-income, elderly or disabled homeowners. One couple left their Culpeper, Va., home at 4:30 a.m. to make sure they arrived in time to start repairing one home.

Christmas in April-St. Mary’s County, the local chapter of Christmas in April-USA, brings together the local community each year on Rebuilding Day, so homeowners can live in warmth, safety and independence.

Approximately 275 volunteers from station organizations volunteered around the county Saturday, said Mary Ann Chasen, Christmas in April-St. Mary’s County executive director.

“The volunteers from Patuxent River – both military and civilian – were awesome this year,” she said. “They were willing to tackle any type of repairs – roofing, wheelchair ramps, electrical or otherwise.”

House captain Ken Ritter, a program analyst with Industrial Operations, and other volunteers got a head start on Wagener’s house April 25, removing the roof and shingles. Saturday, more than 110 volunteers from Industrial Operations, NAS Patuxent River First Class Association, NAS Patuxent River Air Operations, MUG Club, Good Samaritan Lutheran Church, Hollywood Worship Center, Hollywood Optimists, Cornerstone Church, PMA-276, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 21, ManTech, and family members and friends of the homeowner painted the house inside and outside, did yard work and finished most of the roof. Sunday, the group was at it again, finishing the roof and planting flowers.

Ritter has been a house captain for the last seven years, and said this year’s event was the most rewarding.

“Between Mrs. Wagener and her family, I really enjoyed this year, and I think the house really came out nice. Everyone, even with the rain, did a great job.”

Ritter said he continues to volunteer with the program because it offers a way to help people who can’t help themselves.

“I think Christmas in April is a great program for the community,” he said
Veteran house captains like Ritter were joined by new volunteers like BU2 Jeffrey Sapp, a builder with NAS Patuxent River’s Self-Help unit. Sapp, captain of work on a trailer in Dameron, Md., came on board two weeks before Rebuilding Day after the previous house captain took a temporary duty assignment overseas.

Sapp worked with some 30 volunteers from Public Works, Self-Help, the Aircraft Support Competency’s social committee and the homeowners’ family members. The team replaced some of the trailer’s windows, painted the interior and did yard work. Work on the roof had to be postponed because of the morning rain.

Not far from the Public Works house, volunteers from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 joined with Booz-Allen employees to paint the interior and exterior of the house, install a new carpet and kitchen floor, and perform yard work. The volunteers also raised the house two inches so they could install new floor joists. First-time Christmas in April volunteer AMC(AW/SW) Christopher Carlson of VX-20 said he was amazed at how the house was transformed in just one day.

“It was incredible how the team pulled together and worked as one,” he said. “I would encourage anyone and everyone to volunteer their time to help out the program.”

Wagener said she was just as grateful to the people and businesses who donated materials as she was for the volunteers.

“It is so wonderful that people give of their time and themselves,” she said.

-USN-

Photo by Rebecca March
Ken Ritter, captain of a house in Lexington Park, discusses the condition of a roof with volunteers from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 21.

Photo by Rebecca March
Volunteers from Public Works, Self Help, the AIR 2.5 Social Committee and the homeowners’ family members load a dump truck at a house in Dameron, Md., during Christmas in April’s Rebuilding Day April 27.