by gabriella souza, gsouza@news-press.com, originally published in www.news-press.com on 3/28/09
The workers fitted wooden boards into place, using drills to quickly anchor them.
Soon, the structure began to resemble a wheelchair ramp, and Shannon Hughes, one of the workers and an AmeriCorps volunteer, decided to test it.
"It’s walkable," she said as she hopped off.
But would it hold 63-year-old Thomas Blake’s wheelchair?
They were about to find out.
Friday’s project on Mitchell Court was one of many the eight AmeriCorps volunteers will complete during their two-week visit to Fort Myers. The volunteers took the four-day drive from Denver to repair homes with Fort Myers’ community development department and to tutor local children at the STARS Complex, a recreational center, and Franklin Park Magnet School.
This is the second group of AmeriCorps volunteers to come to the city. The last visit occurred during the spring of 2008. The work is paid for through a grant for which the city applied.
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