Students brush up on charity
by Tiffany Davis, south news editor

     South Campus students spent the weekend painting the town, but instead of painting that town red, they painted the home of an elderly resident as part of Cowtown Brushup.
     Sponsored by the City of Fort Worth, Cowtown Brushup provides services to help elderly and low-income families clean up their properties, Jane Salazar, Cowtown Brushup coordinator, said.
     “It’s more than just painting; it’s more than just community involvement. It is a fire igniter because sometimes it sparks the interest of the neighbors to do some home improvement to their own property,” she said.
     Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) and the Student Government Association (SGA) joined together with the support of Charles Huber, South Campus student activities director, to form a team and volunteer for Cowtown Brushup.
     Ines Salomon, president of SGA, served as the Cowtown Brushup team leader. As such, she was responsible for acting as the liaison between the city, the homeowner and the team members.
     As leader, she visited with the homeowner prior to the event and explained the services to be provided, the date and the time for the work.
     According to Jerome Walker, Fort Worth housing director, Cowtown Brushup started in 1991 out of a need for residents to receive some assistance to repair their homes and has grown to 150 recipients and 3,000 volunteers.
     “The city hires contractors to go out and prep the houses by scraping off old paint, patching and repairing window frames. This work costs the city approximately $1,100 per house,” Walker said.
     While the house is being painted, a group called Heat the Town visits the site to check the home’s air conditioning and heating systems.
     “We want to provide all the assistance we can to make sure that the elderly or disabled people in our communities receive help for repairs or work that they otherwise could not do for themselves,” Walker said.
     The fire department checks smoke detectors, and the parks department cuts down overgrown trees and plants trees and shrubbery if necessary.
     “We even have graffiti abatement to remove paint from the house and the buildings in the community,” Salazar said.
     According to Walker, the program’s mission is to help needy individuals while encouraging the interest of others to revitalize their areas.
     “We hope to instill pride in the families in the neighborhood so that they will acquire a desire to help preserve our community,” he said.
     “We could not do this without the help of the volunteers and the contributions from the sponsors and other organizations. To show our appreciation we have a celebration after the house paintings each year,” Salazar said.
     For more information on volunteering for Cowtown Brushup, contact Salazar at 817-871-7544.