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Opinion

Duncan: Looking for more ‘Larrys’ in Sun City

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A month or so ago, I got a phone call out of the blue from a guy named Larry. He heard about Sun City Community Assistance Network’s Paint the Town program.

This is a joint venture program with Habitat for Humanity that is painting the houses of low-income Sun City residents. Sun City CAN screens the applicants and pays the bills; Habitat for Humanity does the prep work and painting.

To date, we have done four Sun City houses.

As I mentioned, Larry heard about this program.

“I think the program you are doing with Habitat is great, but I have got an even better deal for you,” he said.

Naturally, I was a little suspicious. Things that are “too good to be true” usually are too good to be true, but I listened as he continued.

“My wife and my friends and I just love to paint houses,” Larry said. “If you can give us a house of a needy person that needs painting, we will not only do the painting but we will buy the paint and provide all of the materials at no cost to you.”

“Wow!” I said to myself. “I need to meet this Larry guy.”

So, a few days later I stopped by his house and we got acquainted. Long story short, we put Larry in touch with a person who needed to have their house painted. Larry and his wife and his friends spent about a week scraping and caulking and replacing wood and then another week painting the house and the trim. On top of that, they cleaned up the owner’s backyard and hauled off several loads of debris and weeds.

The house looks wonderful with its new paint job and the homeowner is delighted.

Thank you to Larry and everyone involved in this labor of love.

I suspect that there are other “Larrys” out there in Sun City. Guys and gals who want to help their neighbor in need, not for recognition or praise but simply for the joy making someone else’s life a little better. Of course, not everyone has the money or the ability or good health and energy needed to paint a house. But you can participate in Sun City CAN’s Paint the Town program by making a donation to Sun City CAN, 10195 W. Coggins Drive, Sun City, AZ 85351. Together, we can help our neighbors in need and beautify Sun City at the same time.

The Mission of the Sun City Community Assistance Network is to, “Connect people with resources to enhance their standard of living.”

In other words, Sun City CAN helps people save money on things like property taxes, income taxes, utilities, Medicare premiums, prescription drugs and other things.

Many benefits go unclaimed simply because people are unaware that the benefits exist.

Editor’s Note: Hugh Duncan is Sun City Community Assistance Network board president.