Paint Voodoo - Fresh Coat, Cleveland, Sherwin-Williams Casting Spells

We all know what a coat of paint can do - for the market value of real estate or our mood.  When that coat of paint is put on by cheerful volunteers and is donated, well, a spell is cast in the neighborhood.

That's exactly the story that THE PLAIN DEALER writer April McClellan-Copeland tells today about Lula Hayley's life in Cleveland.  Hayley is 83, a widow, and lived in a two-story house on East 95th Street near Superior Avenue. The paint was peeling.  Yeah, a blight on the neighborhood and on the spirit of the owner.

Then Fresh Coat, along with its partners the City of Cleveland and Sherwin-Williams, did their voodoo. They painted the house, just like they painted 73 others in the past two years.  Those receiving this good deed are usually elderly or disabled. Fresh Coat has about 1100 helpers. 

Lora Lee Smith, who put together this magic, is now transitioning to an official nonprofit she calls "Northeast Development Corp. of Cleveland."  Smith hopes to obtain approval from the IRS so that donations are tax-deductible.

In this season of thanksgiving for our own blessings, you might want to volunteer or make a contribution to Fresh Coat Cleveland.  The writer of this article April McClellan-Copeland [amcclellan@plaind.com, 216-999-4927]] can put you in touch with the organization.