BUFFALO, N.Y. — One hundred homes in the University District will become part of the largest home makeover project Buffalo has ever seen starting July 19.
Eight Days of Hope has traveled the country serving families by helping them rebuild their homes for free after natural disasters. With its brand new Buffalo office now open, Eight Days of Hope plans to rebuild their own neighborhood with hundreds of volunteers from all around the country.
"Already volunteers from 24 states are coming to Buffalo in July and we are going to serve families with home repairs for free," said Steve Tybor, Eight Days of Hope president.
The repairs include roofing, carpentry, plumbing, landscaping, fixing decks, porches and fences.
"We reached out to 15 local churches and asked them to tell us of the needs in their community," Tybor said. "They know their community better than we do, so we had about 50 homes come through that process."
Tybor said they picked another 50 houses from a lottery process, where they received over three hundred applications.
The nonprofit plans to do a project like this every year in Buffalo, focusing on a different district every year.
"So every year in Western New York people will know that there is a way for them to give back right here in Buffalo," Tybor said.
Tybor told 2 On Your Side his team is expecting about 1,500 volunteers, making it the largest volunteer effort to happen in Buffalo in a weeks span.
According to Tybor, Eight Days of Hope is family friendly and there is something for everybody. Volunteers will receive food, a free T-shirt, and a ticket to six flags if they volunteer for three days.