The Colony Volunteer Assistance Program Offers Help To Those In Need | Little Elm Journal

Cloudy early with peeks of sunshine expected late. High 93F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Clear skies. Low 74F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.

Participants in The Colony's Volunteer Assistance Program volunteering to help fellow residents.

Participants in the Volunteer Action Program working on yard work earlier this year.

Participants in The Colony's Volunteer Action Program working on repairing a fence this past summer.

Participants in The Colony's Volunteer Assistance Program volunteering to help fellow residents.

Participants in the Volunteer Action Program working on yard work earlier this year.

Participants in The Colony's Volunteer Action Program working on repairing a fence this past summer.

The Colony Volunteer Assistance Program has been around for several years, but interest in the program has been lacking, making the city push for more participation.

The Volunteer Assistance Program was created by the Community Image Department to address the needs of citizens of The Colony. The program aims to build a group of volunteers who help keep The Colony’s neighborhoods maintained.

“The overall purpose is to assist residents with repair of their house if they have demonstrated hardships such as age, financial or disability,” Community Outreach Officer Danny Dill said.

Applications for interest in the program have gone down in recent years and the city is looking to revitalize interest for volunteers to help make the neighborhoods flourish. Each year, the Community Image Department also has an annual event where 30 to 50 volunteers will go out and work on multiple properties.

The Volunteer Action Program aims to focus on the interests of the volunteer, such as woodworking, landscaping or painting. Anything that requires a license such as electrical or plumbing, the program does not provide.

“We provide all of the tools and we provide all of the equipment for the volunteers,” Dill said. “All we ask is that they come in and assist with the task that we’ve assigned to them.”

The main goal of the program is for neighbors to assist residents when they need help. For those interested in being a participant of the program, they have to be a resident of The Colony, own a home that is valued at $150,000 or below and then complete the Volunteer Assistance Program application asking for assistance explaining their existing hardship. Renters are not eligible for the program.

Once submitted, applications are reviewed within four to six weeks and assistance is rewarded on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“I think it’s very important that we invest in and help residents the best we can,” Dill said. “Sometimes there’s just a need for help and not always access to that help and we try to make it as simple as possible.”

For those interested in participating in the Volunteer Assistance Program, contact Danny Dill at ddill@thecolonytx.gov.

Arianna Morrison is a reporter for Star Local Media, covering the communities of The Colony, Little Elm, Carrollton, Lewisville, Flower Mound and Coppell. Email her with story ideas and more at amorrison@starlocalmedia.com.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.

Have the latest local news delivered every morning so you don't miss out on updates.

Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email.