Hundreds from Murrysville church perform 'uncommon' community service in Jeannette

Millie Warren’s backyard in West Jeannette is recognizable again, thanks to the hard work of volunteers from a Murrysville church.

Within a couple hours Saturday morning, a crew from Cornerstone Ministries Church cleared several truckloads of brush and an old fence, leaving behind neatly trimmed trees and grassy space. They also got to work on building a new fence around her backyard.

For Warren and her husband, Willie, it was a huge help for a task they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to complete on their own.

“This just takes a lot of stress off me,” she said. “We didn’t have the money for a fence. It gives me security of knowing I’m getting a fence put up.”

Hundreds of volunteers on Saturday descended on Jeannette as Cornerstone members embarked on their annual “Uncommon” community service weekend. Crews around town helped the city and its residents clean up abandoned properties, do repair work and complete interior projects.

Volunteers built a set of exterior steps, moved rocks and cleared overgrown brush, among other tasks.

William Elias said it would have been “impossible” for him to do what took the volunteers a few hours at his Gaskill Avenue home. They replaced an old carpet on the front porch and sanded the wood underneath. Others caulked and painted windows while volunteers cleared overgrown brush from in front of the house, said volunteer John Caldwell of Monroeville.

“They’re wonderful people,” Elias said. “Every one of them has done something wonderful here. This would cost me thousands of dollars.”

He and the Warrens expressed appreciation for the help. Elias was moved to tears while Warren prepared rigatoni and meatballs for her crew.

Volunteers appreciated the opportunity, too.

Daphne Zeigler of Harrison City, her husband, Bryan, and their two daughters Avery, 13, and Sloane, 11, helped with brush removal and ripping down an old fence at the Warrens’ home. The effort was a good way to show her daughters the importance of giving back.

“I’m just so blessed to meet Millie, and it’s nice to chat with her and hear her story and what this place means to her,” Zeigler said. “I love that we get to do this with our families.”