Rebuilding Together Aids 81-Year-Old Grandmother

Volunteers from around the region helped Margaret Grimes renovate her house Sunday as part of National Rebuilding Day hosted by nonprofit Rebuilding Together.

Grimes, 81, moved into the house when she was 16 years old, moved out and has again lived there for the last 18 years.

She grew up on Madison Street and used to work at Alexandria Hospital.

Grimes told Patch she was "overjoyed" at the high-quality work volunteers were doing on her house. Some of the volunteers were from professional home building and repair firms.

They repaired windows and doors, replaced cabinets, installed smoke detectors and made the home more energy efficient.

Grimes is one of 40 Alexandria residents receiving free repairs and upgrades from Rebuilding Together Alexandria during National Rebuilding Day, with support from Skanska, Booz Allen Hamilton and First Baptist Church.

As part of this year's National Rebuilding Day, volunteers at other locations across Alexandria built raised vegetable gardens and showed homeowners how to maintain them in addition to home maintenance and improvements. 

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