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June 18, 2025 14 mins
From PWC: This year, PWC celebrates its golden anniversary. For 50 years, this nonprofit has been a helping hand to neighbors in the community, keeping them safe and healthy in their homes as long as possible - with both professional technicians and volunteers making a difference year after year.
 
One of PWC's bigger volunteer events of the year is coming up in June! Repair Affair is an opportunity for people to put their home repair skills to good use providing home maintenance services for seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans living on low or fixed incomes. You don't need to be a pro to volunteer for this one either! 
 
Celebrations continue all year as the nonprofit celebrates 50 years and a new headquarters in Sharonville! They're encouraging the community to get involved whether it be volunteering for events such as Repair Affair, or through monetary donations. $50 for 50 years can really make a difference in keeping people safe and healthy in their homes for decades to come.

PWC's Prepare Affair website

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
It's glad to have Beck for another weekend here in
the Tri State. I'm Sandy Collins. This is iHeart Cincy
because we do love our hometown. My next two guests
are from People Working Cooperatively. This is Sarah Bourgeois and
Brian McLaughlin. She is the director of Community Engagement and
Brian is the volunteer program manager. They've got a fifty

(00:24):
year history that they're celebrating this year and they are
recruiting volunteers right now to help out with repair affair,
which they do every June. Congratulations on fifty years of
doing what you do. An evolution that is so interesting
to listen to. Sarah, can you do me a favor
in just PwC is well known here, but there's always

(00:47):
people that are coming in and new and they don't
know about your fantastic services. So if you wouldn't mind
summarizing what People Working Cooperatively offers and that most other
nonprofits don't you do.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Our or services are home repairs and energy conservation for
lower income families. So we're looking at the emergency type
situations where the furnace goes out, the water heater goes out,
health and safety items if the porch has fallen apart
and they don't have a safe entrance. We can also
find out how energy efficient the house is or isn't

(01:24):
and make it a lot better, which reduces the residents
bill for their heating and cooling, also makes their indoor
air quality a lot better and safer. And we do
modifications for mobility, so if someone has challenges getting around,
we can put up ramp we can put up grab bars, handrails,

(01:45):
those kinds of things. But we also do a lot
of health focused work that we never used to have.
So we can now do some asthma trigger reductions, which
again is related to that indoor air quality. We can
do lead poisoning prevention and then in place for our
older adults, and so we just have broadened our scope
of work. So anything in the home environment, we have

(02:09):
experts on staff that can address those issues.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
So two things about that. One is that it is
a professional, paid staff, which a lot of people ask
those questions are they all volunteers and know these are
professionals carpenters and plumbers and roofers and things. But number two,
because this is income based, not only do you help
the lower income, the senior citizens, but you also have
services that people can purchase from you if they need

(02:34):
your same services but they can afford it. Is that right?

Speaker 2 (02:38):
You got it? So we do have one hundred and
staff of one hundred and thirty on staff, and that's growing.
One hundred and thirty five, I think is the latest number.
We are actively hiring all trades because we have a
lot more work to do, and some of the services
we do for non income based, so for instance, fall prevention,
we have programming heredence based class that we offer for

(03:02):
older adults and that does not cost anybody, and that
is not an income program. We also have what we
call whole Home, which is our fee for service arm
of the company, so you could hire us to be
your general contractor for the things that make homes more accessible,
like the ramps and the bathroom work and the grab

(03:23):
bars and the handrails. We have a pretty cool ramp
rental program, so if somebody has a surgery and they
need a ramp for just a few months, they can
rent it from us, and any proceeds we might earn
on those types of projects goes back to PWC's nonprofit side.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Sarah I learned something new every day about you guys's work.
There's just so much that is so cool. I've never
even thought about of a rental program. You know, when
we're talking about aging in place, oftentimes you might think
about somebody who's seventy or eighty and lives alone, but
really we're talking about your You know, if you're a
baby boomer and you've got your parents are just starting
to need things, you wouldn't think about calling. You know,

(04:00):
you just long go to go to the store myself
and get some grab bars and stick them in there.
But your services actually will help determine the safety hazards
in the home and how to do what you can
to make sure that, no matter what their age, if
they need some help with getting around, you certainly have
a way to help them out.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
We are great at giving advice, and sometimes that's helpful
in a family situation where I know my parents need things,
but they don't want to listen to me. So if
I hire an outside consultant thick Us that can come
in and just be that objective third party, and so
then now they're more likely to put some of those
measures into place because an expert said it, and not

(04:42):
my kid.

Speaker 1 (04:42):
Right, right, we'll never grow up, Sarah will always be
our parents, little girl or little boy, Brian, and it's
always nice to have that other person backing you up
on that. So let's talk about repair Fair and then
we'll go back a little bit about PwC before we
wrap up. But repair a fairs coming up, and this
is an opportunity for folks to volunteer in order to

(05:07):
help our neighbors with getting ready for summer. Brian, can
you take it from there?

Speaker 3 (05:13):
Yeah, So repair affair is, as you said, a great
opportunity to give back and to volunteer and help somebody,
maybe right in your neighborhood. And kind of like you
were saying, Sandy, sometimes you don't realize the need that
people have, right you know. It's like you don't realize
that maybe it's just somebody getting a little bit older
that could use some grab bars or something and they
don't have the means of doing that kind of stuff.

(05:33):
So I think it's a really great opportunity to get
to know your neighbors and people in the city and
get back a little bit. And one of the great
things about the repair affairs that you don't have to
be a home repair expert to be able to volunteer
and participate. So we absolutely will take the home repair experts.
They're great, we love them, and maybe they'll go do
something a little more complicated like building a set of
steps or you know, pourn some concrete or something like that.

(05:56):
If you're not one of those experts, though, there's plenty
of smaller tabs or more simple tasks that people still
need help with. So, as we talked about, if you're
aging in place and you're having the hard time getting around,
maybe there's flower beds just you can't weed them anymore
and you feel like you're the isore on the block.
Well maybe we can send somebody over your way to
help wea those flower beds and put some mulch down,
or we're painting exterior surfaces to try to prevent rot

(06:19):
and further damage.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
You know.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
So there's a place for everybody. And one of the
big things that we're really focusing on this year is
that community building aspect of it, where we're trying to
reach out to churches and say, hey, there's a person
right around.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
The corner from you that could really use your help.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
I was speaking with a woman from Saint Leo the
Great over in North Farmount yesterday. They have a food
pantry as well, and they provide other services to the community.
So it's not just about those volunteers going over and
helping their neighbor in that one way. It's about connecting
them with resources to be able to help them in
a further capacity as well.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
So if you want to volunteer for this organization, we'll
give you that information something to jot that number down
with if you just joined us. I'm speaking with Sarah
Bourgeois and she is the director of Community Engagement at
People Working Cooperatively which we know as PwC, and Brian McLoughlin,

(07:15):
who is the volunteer project manager. Repair Affair was a
one day thing for a long time, but now you've
kind of opened it up to the month of June.

Speaker 3 (07:24):
Yep, absolutely so, you know, as a lot of agencies
and organizations had to adapt because of COVID, that's sort
of what the main motivation for doing that was. We
didn't want to gather and have large groups meeting all
at once in one day. It was not a safe
thing to do at that time. But that's kind of
organically allowed us to open the event and expanded a

(07:45):
little bit more so we kind of yeah, throughout the
month of June, we are focusing on repair fair projects.
So that's been helpful in a lot of ways because
maybe that one day that we pick a year it
doesn't work for you, but maybe you could do something
a different day and it could still on the part
of the event. And it's been really helpful too. With
you know, we have a lot of businesses that are

(08:05):
participating with US corporate groups and things like that, and
we usually have more success with those people volunteering during
the week, so that's great. So we are trying to
meet people where they are available so that they can help.
You know, we can help as many people as possible.

Speaker 1 (08:17):
And you've got a big list, Sarah. You've got a
lot of people who need help and you're trying to
whittle away at it. But like you said, I do
know that you have a lot of folks that need help.
More then you have help.

Speaker 3 (08:31):
Staff.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Our paid staff is out doing the more critical repairs
and so if a client. I've met a man yester
the other day who he had a screen door and
the screen was all boogered up, and you know, our
cicadas are out and about right now, and he's like,
I really just want this screen fix so the cicadas

(08:52):
don't come in. Well, our paid staff is not going
to address issues like that. We aren't going to send
a plumber to address a lead faucet. But our volunteers
can take care of some of those lesser critical items
and that makes a big difference for these folks.

Speaker 1 (09:10):
Oh, we all know that the backscreen door doesn't work
for years, and you say every time you go in
and out, I'm going to get that fixed. I'm going
to get that fixed. And then when you get it fixed,
then there's this relief that you say, why didn't I
fix it sooner? So remember that feeling of getting it
fixed and call PwC if you need assistance. They can
guide you no matter what your income is. They can

(09:32):
answer your questions on what the limitations are and how
they can help you. And if you can't, I know
you'll always steer people towards the places that can help
them if you're not able to help. So, how do
we get a hold of you to a volunteer for
Repair Fair?

Speaker 3 (09:49):
Yeah, so you can go to our website which is
pwcome Repairs dot org. At the top of the page,
there is an events tab and then you can click
on Repair Fair. There's more information there and there's also
registration link as well. My contact information is also on
that page, so if anyone has any questions, feel free
to shoot me an email if you'd like to call
in and get more information. Our phone number is five

(10:11):
one three three, five one seven nine to two one
and Sandy, like you said, we're looking for volunteers all
throughout the month of June. So the big day is
going to be next Saturday, June fourteenth, and we're going
to be having a lunch back here from about twelve
to two at forty six twelve Paddock Road for the
volunteers to come.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
Back and celebrate.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
But if you can't make it on that day, we
are certainly excited to have you volunteer on a different
day if you're interested, and if.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
You're interested in joining an organization that where you can
make a real difference and start building a community in
your own world. Volunteers say, I was I volunteered for once,
and then I love the mission and I love the people,
and I come back all the time, and so that
helps you as well, helps you with your community finally.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
Guess it's always just it's more fun to work on
someone else's house. Now, like our own list of projects
can wait. If you go to somebody else's house, there's
just a bigger like layer of Hey, this is fun
and it's rewarding, and so anyway.

Speaker 1 (11:09):
That's fantastic. So after fifty years now you have secured
the funding, the support, the grants to actually move from
your home there on Paddock in the next few years,
and you've bought a Is it a warehouse or how
would you describe that huge building that you bought the
end the land.

Speaker 2 (11:28):
We bought a new building in Sharonville that currently is
an empty warehouse and we are working with architects right
now and we will turn that into our headquarters, so
our office space, our community room space, place for volunteers together,
and warehouse. So right now our campus is very disjointed.
We have different warehouses, we have little offices here or

(11:51):
offices over here. But our new space we will all
be under one roof with room for expansion if we
if need bees And that makes.

Speaker 1 (11:59):
It such a it's such a difference. Run you're just
right down the hallway or right around the corner from
what you need to do. So you're working on the architects.
Now they're talking about renovating this big warehouse, so you're
still raising money for it because I know, while the
building may be either paid for or mostly paid for,
you still have a lot of financial need there, so
people can make donations. And then before we end up,

(12:22):
the tool Belt Ball, which is coming up my favorite
glitzy glamour fundraiser is later this year, and that's a
formal fundraiser for PwC and all of its residents and
neighbors and volunteers, clients, etc. When is that Do you

(12:43):
have the date?

Speaker 3 (12:44):
Ye? Saturday, September thirteenth is the tool Belt Ball. It's
going to be at the Manor House in Mason. And yeah,
like you said, Sandy, our annual gala, our big fundraiser
for the year. We'll have a lot of fun activities
like a bourbon and a tequila and wine pool where
you can give money and you get a random bottle.
There'll be silent auctions and other things like that as well,

(13:08):
nice sit down dinner, formal dinner, and then we have
a presentation and one of the big things that we
do that that night is we highlight a family with
a specific special need, especially in the modifications world. So
somebody that has a big project needed because their home
needs to be modified for their their abilities. So we
will highlight that family and then we will ask people

(13:30):
to help us make that project in reality by contributing
funding to that. So, yes, that's a big important event
that we have coming up at the beginning of the fall.

Speaker 1 (13:40):
All the information at PwC home Repairs dot org. Sarah
Bourgeois and Brian McLaughlin from PwC, thank you so much
for what you do. Good luck with prepare Fair. Let
us know what we can do to help you.

Speaker 2 (13:51):
Thanks Fanny.

Speaker 1 (13:52):
That website once again, PwC home Repairs dot org coming up.

Speaker 2 (13:57):
They all have a history and it's fun to hear
there's stories.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
That's next on iHeart Cincy.
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