WACO, Texas — A Waco woman said her faith in humanity is restored.
She put out a call to action to rally around her elderly next-door neighbor, and boy did people answer.
When Carmen Merritt noticed the state of her neighbor James McWhorter's roof she said knew she had to do something.
"This is not OK. He has helped me with so much and I didn't feel right just going back inside and doing nothing," Merritt said.
So she posted on the Nextdoor app asking the community to help McWhorter, her neighbor of 20 years and the neighborhood handyman.
"(I did) everything roofing, shingling, painting. Painting was a thing that I really enjoyed more than anything else," McWhorter said.
"If someone had a toilet that ran over, a mouse was in the house, anything at all needed repair, he was the one they called and he was always available," Woods said. "He was known to make some repairs for poor people without charging the going rate. He was just a good man. Today, he has been robbed of those skills because he has dementia."
Woods felt inspired to help after reading the Nextdoor posting and learning about McWhorter. She owns MLW Real Estate Holdings, a local remodeling company.
"I might be 87 years old but I'm not too old to do onto others," Woods said.
She asked one of her contractors if he would be willing to take a look at the house and volunteer one Saturday to fix it. But what she thought would be a simple roof repair turned out to be a lot more.
"There are some spots that are showing bare plywood. The shingles are gone all the way to the deck and other spots nails were raising up through the shingles. It definitely needs an entire roof," Pedro De La Rosa, owner of DLR Construction and Remodeling said.
Merritt said donations for repairs started pouring in after her initial post in early May. Neighbors raised enough money for a year of pest control.
"It feels like a good person is finally getting what they deserve," Merritt said.
In addition, Clayton Homes is donating all the shingles and Lowe's is furnishing the rest of the materials.
McWhorter said he's grateful for the unexpected blessing.
"It shows me that there are still those kinds of people that are willing to help others," McWhorter said.
Woods, who's done a lot for military veterans in the past, said no one who served should have to live with a roof in the state of McWhorter's. He served in the military from 1961 to 1965.
"We don’t want anyone to live that way, but our veterans that served our country need better care than that and we are blessed to have found out about him and it’s an opportunity for us to give something back," Woods said.
Merritt is encouraging everyone to check on their elderly neighbors.
"Especially after the year of 2020 where there was a lot of isolation, we just need to make sure they doing OK. Do they have enough food? Do they have enough electricity? Do they need any home repairs? And then try and get them that help," Merritt said.
Woods is hoping to complete the roofing project on Saturday, June 5, but that can only happen if skilled roofers and carpenters volunteer their time.
If you would like to help you can call Millie Woods at 254-224-6046. There is also an account named "Fix the Roof" set up at Bancorp South in Waco if you would prefer to give a donation.