Annual NeighborWorks volunteer project gives Westside homes a facelift
After 37 years, Paint Your Heart Out has repainted over 800 homes, many of them on Salt Lake’s West Side. All photos by Rob Ware.
On Friday, August 11, NeighborWorks Salt Lake hosted its 37th year of a program called Paint Your Heart Out, where community business, organizations, and volunteers come together to paint homes and beautify our communities. The event included over 200 volunteers and 11 homes – 10 of which are on Salt Lake’s Westside – with a pre-painting breakfast provided by the Rose Park Lions Club.
David Wilkinson and Suzanne Taylor are two home owners who participated in NeighborWorks’ annual Paint Your Heart Out Event. All photos by Rob Ware.
Suzanne Taylor and David Wilkinson, a mother and son who live next door to each other near the NeighborWorks office, learned about the program by coming across a house being painted last year. “We were driving on 900 West,” said Taylor, “and saw a house with 20 or more people in volunteer shirts, working on it. That piqued our curiosity.”
To follow up, Taylor and Wilkinson went to the NeighborWorks office with questions about qualifications, including things like education level and income. As college educated people – Taylor alone has seven degrees, ranging from a BA to an MS in nursing – they were worried they wouldn’t qualify for the program. They were wrong, and their house was included in this year’s project.
“I think it’s an amazing program,” said Wilkinson. “I really wanted to see it happen for her, but they offered to do both houses since they’re both really similar – and mine needed some paint work as well. They thought they could just knock them out at the same time. I’m really grateful that they chose both of our houses.”
If you’re interested in the program for next August, there’s no need to visit NeighborWorks in person – learn more or sign up online at nwsaltlake.org/paint-your-heart-out.
