A few houses in Leeds are looking much better after a weekend of hard work by Habitat for Humanity and community volunteers through the “A Brush With Kindness” program.

The program was sponsored by CLEAR, a community organization that has helped bring Habitat for Humanit to Leeds for ongoing projects in recent years. In this effort, CLEAR and Habitat brought together numerous volunteers, including over 100 students from area colleges such as Samford and Birmingham Southern. In fact, students from as far away as Boston provided a helping hand, opting to spend their spring break working with Habitat for Humanity instead of hitting the beach.

The volunteers took on several houses, giving them a fresh coat of paint and performed some clean-up jobs on the properties. The homes included four on Alabama Street as well as others on Third Avenue, Georgia Street and Florida Street. In addition, Moton High School also was touched up with fresh paint and flowers were planted.

CLEAR Director Dr. Carl Marbury said Habitat has made a big difference in several Leeds neighborhoods and that those efforts will continue in the future.

“A difference is being made in these neighborhoods thanks to Habitat for Humanity and the residence who are volunteering. We want to continue these efforts throughout Leeds,” Marbury said.

Marbury said he hopes other neighborhoods are inspired by the work that was done on Alabama Street this past weekend.

“This marks one of the first times that a neighborhood got organized to do something of this magnitude,” Marbury said. “The Alabama Street Community Project is taking beautification and safety very seriously and we hope that other streets will be challenged to do the same.”

In order to keep up the momentum, the community will need to continue its efforts, which includes locating homeowners that may be eligible for Habitat programs, such as “A Brush With Kindness.”

The Brush With Kindness program focuses on exterior house painting and handicap accessibility modifications. Repairs are supervised by Habitat Birmingham construction staff members.

Marbury said the program is ideal for senior citizens and single parents. He added that low-income families may qualify for more extensive home repairs such as roof replacement.

Habitat for Humanity and CLEAR began their efforts in Leeds about four years ago. Since that time, at least 27 houses in the city have undergone some type of renovation.

Marbury said the program is especially important to Leeds considering the potential for future growth.

“If we are going to be a city with more visitors we’ve got to clean things up. Every citizen should be challenged to do their part. The Brush With Kindness program is designed to combine beauty and compassion and getting neighbors to help neighbors,” he said.

In addition to Habitat’s efforts, CLEAR also organized a Census Rally with volunteers setting up tables and walking door-to-door to ensure residents had filled out the 2010 Census forms.

Marbury added that the work done on these houses do just as much for the residence as they do for the home themselves.

“This isn’t just about making houses look better … it is an effort to build community pride. I believe these efforts are paying off for the residents of these communities and for the entire city,” Marbury said.