A veritable army of men, women and heavy machinery converged on a Langley property on Saturday to help a local family in need – and wage war on a mountain of junk.
Sharon, Peggy, Edward and Diane Ford have lived in the same home for more than 40 years. RCMP Const. Paul Walker says the group of hearing-impaired siblings is a "great bunch of people" – but over time their land had become a dumping ground.
Piles of garbage, scrap metal and computer parts littered the property, and an old wooden garage and fence were rotting and unsafe. Much of the property was overgrown with blackberries.
Walker decided that serving violation tickets to the family, who could not afford to pay them, was pointless. "The best solution to getting this family back on their feet is to help them out," he said.
He set about asking some community partners to help in a property restoration project. The response was overwhelming: 50 people volunteered their time, and more than $20,000 in materials were donated.
"It's good to see how the community comes together and helps people in need," he said.
Volunteers came from all walks of life, from contractors in the community to police officers to church members. "It's something people want to do," Phil Fassbender of the Christian Life Assembly Church said. "They're thankful … to be able to help somebody else that maybe doesn't have everything they do."
The family left their home on Saturday morning and crews went to work transforming the yard from a garbage heap into a beautifully landscaped lawn with new fencing, a brand new shed and new grass and trees.
In a matter of hours they had cleared enough material to fill two giant dumpsters.
The Fords returned at 7 p.m. to find their property barely recognizeable.
"Awesome," Sharon said. "I think you guys are great. I'm going to cry again."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Brent Gilbert
