When Josh Cyganik, railroad track inspector for Union Pacific, heard local teens making fun of a 75-year-old Leonard Bullock’s home, he decided to do something about it.
On July 15th, Josh posted this message on Facebook asking for help:
“To my friends! So I was at work a couple weeks ago and I heard 2 teenage boys walked by this old man’s house. He sits on the porch all day long. They were on his side of the road and I heard them from where I was. They said loud enough for me to hear “look at this crappy house they just need to burn it down”! I looked at the old man sitting on the porch with his head down and it got me thinking. I went to Brian Christensen at Tum Lum lumber and asked him if he would be willing to donate paint to repaint his house to make it look better! And he agreed. So I’m asking if anyone that wants to help this Saturday to volunteer their time to help paint this gentleman’s house! I’m thinking 8 o’clock Saturday morning this weekend across from the UPRR yard in Pendleton on Goodwin Avenue! Thanks everyone for your support”
Josh was stunned with the response he got from a simple Facebook post. Volunteers showed up from Texas, Washington, and as far as California.
“I stopped counting at 95 volunteers, but everyone showed up excited and willing to help,” said Cyganik.
The amount of people who showed up is incredible. Nearly everywhere you looked, someone was working.
The exterior house renovations didn’t take long with the help of over 95 volunteers. Here’s the final result!
“According to the media, I’m a hero. I’m not a hero, I just heard something that bothered me,” said Cyganik. “I was raised to respect the people who came before you, to help others out who don’t have much.”
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