Volunteers improve North Omaha community

There was a major show of support for Omaha's Abide Network this weekend.

Crews tackled projects such as painting near 33rd and Fowler streets Saturday morning. The event attracted church groups, sports teams and even an NBA player -- former Creighton Bluejay Kyle Korver.

Korver's foundation served as a partner for the project.

Abide Network officials said they are working to increase home ownership in North Omaha, believing that's the key to restoring communities.

"Together, we can see our city and specifically North Omaha become a better place," said Abide Network's Josh Dotzler. "We can see houses get cleaned up; fixed up and get families into them. We can see a lot of good stuff happen, but it's only going to happen if we do it together."

"Every year, we come back and see the progress, and you see people living in the homes that you helped fix up a little," said Korver, who plays for the Atlanta Hawks. "It brings energy. It makes you excited."

Volunteers even braved some rain working all morning cleaning up the area.

Plenty of people in Omaha lent a helping hand or a helping brush, including Mayor Jim Suttle's team. The 20-12 Brush-Up Nebraska Paint-A-Thon team donned special T-shirts to paint the house of senior citizens.

"This is about quality of life in Omaha," said Suttle. "Our citizenry are generous. They know you can't take, take, take without giving, giving, giving. And today is a day of giving."

The Paint-A-Thon stretched across the state and is designed to help older and disabled homeowners maintain their property.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48717589/ns/local_news-omaha_ne/

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