A couple of houses in Chatham are going to look brand new thanks to a local initiative.
Volunteers spent Friday and Saturday fixing up the exteriors of two houses on Forest Street as part of the Backyard Mission project organized by the First Presbyterian Church and First Christian Reformed Church.
For the past 11 years, the project has aimed to transform the property of deserving homeowners in the community.
"In the past, we have scraped and painted houses, built wheelchair ramps and fences, done general carpentry repairs, replaced eaves troughs, landscaped and done general cleanup around a house," said Rev. Mike Maroney. "This is done free of charge to the deserving homeowner as an outreach of love and compassion in the name of Jesus Christ."
One of the properties on Forest Street received new walkways and a wheelchair ramp in addition to new landscaping while the other house was the recipient of a fresh paint job and landscaping.