This will be the 10th year for the Sargent Family Community Fund Just One Day (JOD) event.
It’s called “Just One Day” because on the second Wednesday in July, a group of volunteers get together to do major renovations on a house, (or nowadays, houses), for just one day.
Picture a dozen volunteers acting as painters, or gardeners, or cleaners. Alongside them are some of the best skilled professionals in town, guiding the renovation, stage by stage.
I remember the first one was Alice Richardson’s house, on the other side of Main St., across from what is now Summit Homes, but not too far from Sarge’s Sports Pub & Grub.
The whole thing got started when Craig Sargent looked over and thought he would help her out by mowing her lawn. He estimates she was in her eighties at the time.
Sargent, “I’ve got a big riding tractor. So, I would mow her lawn every year and one year she gave me some jam at the end of the year and she goes, ‘I can’t pay you’. And I said, I’m not doing this to be paid. And she goes, ‘This is so nice that you do this.’
At one point he looked around and wondered aloud, ‘My god, it must have been so beautiful here years ago.’ “Oh, she started to cry. So, she goes and shows me pictures of when it was gardens, when there were stone steps out there. So, I knew they (the stones) were all still there.” He didn’t say anything to her, but he had an idea.
He was trying to be respectful, didn’t want to offend her in any way, and so instead decided to broach the topic with her son, Paul Noyes.
He recalled saying something like, “Hey, what do you think? I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I can recapture those gardens.” His intention was for her to see it as she remembered it.
“Oh so we went in there with Steve Powers. He had, like, six guys. They did all the tree trimming. They brought the apple trees back. Just a huge cleanup. We went in with a big mowing crew. I mean, just all kinds of stuff like that. So, I said we’ll bring those gardens back and we made it pretty beautiful. And she was so happy.”
Every year since then the group effort has grown. What started with one house has now become several. With started with group of volunteers has now become dozens.
Sargent made it clear that the ways in which the SFCF come across the individuals who need help are varied, but not one person has ever actually asked for a handout in any way.
This year the sights of the JOD group are significantly higher. One project is to help Matt Clark who became a paraplegic after a devastating car accident in his late teens.
You might know Clark from his charitable work as a Rangeley Mason, Kemankeag Lodge #213, or maybe you’ve seen him working at IGA.
While his house does have a ramp for wheelchair accessibility, it’s pretty long, and pretty steep, especially when you consider the winters when covered with ice and snow.
The goal is to jack up the house, redo a new room at the end of the house, and put in something to shield him from the elements as he’s entering the house.
At the time of the interview, the estimate was well over $100,000.
While local contractors donate a lot of their time and labor, there are still plenty of funds that need to be raised.
I have to mention that Sargent is one of the fastest talkers and thinkers I have ever spoken to. He was going more than a mile a minute and this newspaper is not long enough to inform you of all of the meetings, plans, projects and volunteer efforts he and the rest of his SFCF family are a part of. All of this while still a very successful nationally known insurance consultant and business owner. (See article on this page.)
It’s obvious that the “Just One Day” event takes a huge amount of effort, not just over one day, but all year long, but he reminded me, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.”
So, I know you’re busy, and so I’m asking you! If you could lend a hand or are able to donate, you’ll be happy to read that the SFCF is a registered 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization so any donation that you would make is tax deductible. Those donations can be mailed to: SFCF PO BOX 902, Rangeley, ME 04970 or using Venmo @SF-CF.
For additional details on how you can become a donor or a volunteer at this year’s event on July 17, 2024 you may reach out to Craig Sargent by telephone or text at 207.240.4013 or via email at [email protected].
