World Changers a win-win-win situation

World Changers is not only helping residents with home repairs, it is allowing the Alaska Community Development Corporation (ACDC) to reach more people.

ACDC secures grants and provides the funding for the World Changers projects. Without the partnership with World Changers, the scope of the work done would not be as large, ACDC officials said.

"Working with World Changers allows us to stretch our funding and serve a lot more people," said Curt Christiansen of ACDC. "It definitely allows us to do more houses during the year than we would otherwise be able to."

Most of the funds are supplied through grant money from the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, the Department of Energy, HUD and the state. Some grants involve weatherization, home maintenance, senior accessibility and self-help building, Christiansen said. During the year, if ACDC officials come across cases in which a roof needs repaired or painting needs to be done, many times it is set aside for the time when World Changers is here.

"With the free volunteer labor, many times we can pay for supplies and put a whole new roof on a house through World Changers when we might have only had it in the budget to do a simple repair," Christiansen said. "We couldn't make our budget stretch nearly as much as we through volunteer work."

Christiansen said businesses such as Spenard Builders Supply and United Tool Rentals have also helped make the ACDC budget stretch, and in turn, help people get their home repaired when they can't afford to otherwise.

"As an agency, we really, really appreciate the opportunity to work with World Changers," Christiansen said. "They are very organized and they are helping us bring the housing stock up in the Valley."

ACDC is also doing a self-help housing program in which families perform much of their own work in building a home. Volunteers are needed for that program as well. Interested people can call Christiansen at 746-5680 for more information.