Volunteers painting porches in Easton's West Ward in hopes of inspiring community

Volunteers in Easton are trying to spruce up the West Ward step by step.

Faced with limited funds, they decided the best way to give the 1000 block of Washington Street a face-lift would be to clean and paint each resident's front porch.

"We were trying to think of a creative way to do something with the little money we had," said Lynne Holden, a project coordinator for the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership. "Just painting one or two facades on a block doesn't make much of a difference. We tried to think of how we can make a bigger impact."

Each Saturday in April, more than 30 people gather between 10th and 11th streets armed with paintbrushes and drop cloths.

Holden has teamed up with Mike Hollenbach of the Bridge Community Church to attack the weathered porches. They hope a fresh look will inspire a sense of community.

"The more time we spend on the streets, on our porches, the greater chance we have of actually forming relationships and reconnecting with our neighbors," Hollenbach said.

Holden and Hollenbach set up operations at 9 a.m. each Saturday and hand out assignments to the volunteers. First, they cleaned the porches with power washers that the workers brought from their own homes. After that, they sanded the porches and began painting.

Without much money available to them, they knew they would need to be creative. The group contacted Sherwin-Williams, which donated paint for the project. Home Depot donated gift cards for other needed supplies.

A lot of the volunteers live in the West Ward and many belong to the Bridge Community Church. Church member Ashley Bunnell is a 25-year-old transplant from Quakertown. She attended Lafayette College and decided to stay in Easton after she graduated. She and her husband moved to 15th Street six months ago.

"I'm coming out to support the community," Bunnell said. "We're trying to make the neighborhood look welcoming. We love Easton."

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Volunteers painting porches in Easton's West Ward in hopes of inspiring community