Lights turn on, doors open smoothly and faucets no longer drip after a visit from the Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Team. Here, Gary Satterfield, program director, listens as homeowner Joyce Skrak explains a pesky plumbing problem.
How many mothers-in-law does it take to change a lightbulb?
None, they just wait until their sons-in-law come round.
But what if you don’t have a handy son-in-law? And you’re not too steady on your feet? At least not when it comes to balancing atop a wobbly ladder.
And even if you know how to navigate the internet to hire help, do you really want some stranger in your home for just one or two small jobs that will quickly eat into your limited resources?
So who you gonna call? The Rotary Home Team, that’s who.
Brainchild of Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary member, Hays Engelhart, the Rotary Home Team has been going strong since its inception in 2010. The goal is to help seniors feel safe, secure and comfortable in their own homes by getting trusted volunteers to replace smoke alarm batteries, fix leaky faucets, reset circuit breakers and perform a whole host of other niggling household repairs.
All at no charge.
Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary President Scott Parsons calls the program “Rotary at its best” and, while admitting to being “not at all handy” himself, is proud of the fact that he actually once managed to fix one woman’s vacuum cleaner.
Gary Satterfield, the Home Team’s current director, joined the project about six years ago when he was winding down his work life and looking for a “retirement hobby.” Likewise, most of what he calls this “get up and get it done group” have come from a variety of careers. Half are lawyers.
Senior homeowners interested in using this service begin by leaving a description of the maintenance issue on the Home Team’s voicemail. The teams work Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon, but since this is only every other month, it could be another three weeks before a request is fulfilled. In which case, said Satterfield, he often visits that person long before the available date rolls around.
Team members generally work in groups of two, although Satterfield said, “you really only need one handy person.”
The other is to hold the flashlight in awkward places, perhaps steady that wobbly ladder or even simply reassure the homeowner – who is often a widow. According to the calculations of estate planning attorney Matthew Miner, 64% of men die before their wives. This leaves a lot of female seniors who live alone requesting assistance from the Rotary Home Team.
The team of two, said Satterfield, “are like a couple of neighbors lending you a hand” and, to that end, will discreetly keep an eye out for any potentially dangerous situations – be it loneliness, illness, hoarding, mold, anything where they suspect a senior might be struggling.
Sunrise Rotary has a very good working relationship with the community-based network, Lamorinda Village, and will always try to connect anyone they consider at-risk with the right professionals.
“Basically, we’re all just homeowners who’ve been to the hardware store a couple of thousand times,” said Satterfield.
For more information, visit rotaryhometeam.com, or call 888.204.5573. Call Lamorinda Village at 925.283.3500 or email info@LamorindaVillage.org.
