Neighbors Helping Neighbors Event Benefits Seniors in Detroit

Key Points

• Valerie Norrell's mother, who has multiple sclerosis, received help from Marathon Petroleum volunteers to clean up her yard, which had been neglected due to health issues in the family.
• The Neighbors Helping Neighbors event, organized by Marathon Petroleum’s Detroit refinery, involved 50 volunteers assisting seniors with yardwork, tree trimming and small repairs.
• The volunteers' efforts transformed Norrell's mother's yard, and their dedication was greatly appreciated by the community.

Valerie Norrell said her mom becomes emotional every time she thinks about the volunteers from Marathon Petroleum who came to help clean up her yard during its annual day of service. Norrell said that her mother, who is 84 and has had multiple sclerosis since 1973, has lived in the same Colonial-style home near Marathon Petroleum’s Detroit refinery since Norrell was a child. Norrell and her husband used to take care of the yard until he started experiencing health issues last year.

“We physically couldn’t do it anymore,” said Norrell. “It was heartbreaking because my mom loves to look out the window to see her yard, and it was not being maintained. After a storm hit Michigan, it was even worse.”

For the sixth consecutive year, volunteers from the Detroit refinery hosted its Neighbors Helping Neighbors community service event. Employees volunteered their time to assist seniors living in the Boyton neighborhood near the refinery with yardwork, tree trimming and small repairs.

“This event allows us to get to know our neighbors and spend time helping them with yard projects they aren’t able to do on their own,” said Whitney Walton, Senior Security Specialist at the refinery and organizer of the Neighbors Helping Neighbors event.

Fifty employees, contractors, and co-ops from the Detroit refinery volunteered at 20 homes that were selected for assistance.

“They just went above and beyond to help in our community,” said Norrell. “They worked for hours, and now my mom’s huge yard looks like a park. I just really appreciate it.”

The Neighbors Helping Neighbors event takes place each summer to help get yards overgrown with grass, brush and fallen trees in shape for residents to be able to maintain it themselves.