Man Organizes Community To Transform 72-Year-Old Woman’s Dilapidated Home

In a year/world where so many of the headlines can tend to discourage us about how people treat their fellow humans, it's always refreshing to run across stories that truly inspire. As dark as the world may seem, there are still people doing truly kind things.

Let's talk about Gloria Scott. She's a 72-year-old woman from Woburn, Massachusetts. She lives alone on a limited income and though her house was once lovely, it had fallen into serious disrepair. She spent many hours in her home, alone passing time, making the best of things.

Her house had become dilapidated to the point where one day, Gloria noticed sparks flying out of one of her light fixtures. Despite the fact that she does her best to keep a tight budget, this was something that couldn't be ignored. So she called electrician John Kinney to come and take care of it for her.

But then, Kinney looked around her home and realized that the light fixture was just the tip of the iceberg. Not only was there a large amount of damage to her plumbing, her ceiling even had holes and outside critters were getting inside. That's not all. Even her running water had issues to the point where Gloria Scott would have to turn off the water supply completely. She'd turn it on every so often so she could flush her toilets.

He noticed the dilapidation and once she told him she wasn't able to afford the repairs, Kinney decided he had to do something about it.

He began by getting some of his friends together to help her with some much-needed lawn work. Then he took it a huge step further. He decided to solicit for professionals from the community to join him in helping repair the home of Gloria Scott. For free. 

CNN reports that "within 24 hours, people had donated more than $3,500, and the amount has since topped $100,000. The money paid for skilled professionals to work on the house, but volunteers also showed up along with donated materials and supplies. And local restaurants are sending over meals."

Not only did John Kinney and the community help fix up Gloria Scott's home, they gave her a community that she'd been without for over ten years.

Kinney's efforts have now become a movement and a community known as Gloria's Gladiators. John Kinney's hope is to have new chapters spring up across the country with the goal to assist the elderly and those who can't help themselves.

Heroes.

Learn more about Gloria's Gladiators via their Facebook page.