NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken Jr. spent time in Nashville, painting a house for a resident who's had a heart attack and stroke.
William Montgomery sat and watched Ripken and nearly 30 volunteers work on the Eastmoreland Street he's lived in for 12 years.
Ripken is part of the project by Habitat for Humanity and was brought to Nashville through his long association with Energizer.
"I've always been someone who's been involved in the community. I've used the platform that baseball gave me to help do good things," Ripken explained. "I can paint, I can hammer nails. So I can help."
Habitat's "Brush with Kindness" program has renovated five homes in Nashville in the past several years, including some work on houses affected by the May 2010 flood.
Ralph Knauss is CEO of the Nashville Habitat for Humanity. "In addition to building houses, there's a housing need in our community for restoration of homes for families that can't afford it," he said.
At Montgomery's home, volunteers recruited by Energizer sealed the home against water, caulked any holes in the exterior, primed it and painted.
They're also doing yard work.
"The yard was over run with out of control landscaping, we've removed that landscape and we're preparing the yard to where we can re-landscape it. It will give it more of a controlled environment, it'll give it more street appeal," Knauss said.
Montgomery sat with a cane and watched the volunteers and the Hall of Famer work a miracle on his home.
"Oh man, this is fantastic. It's really a blessing from the Lord. You know I never thought it would look like this again," he told Nashville's News 2.
Ripken said his role in the project is to bring awareness to the work being done by Energizer and Habitat for Humanity.
He encourages others to pitch in one way or another.
"Think about how fulfilled you are in your life because the fulfillment comes from helping others I'd just encourage you to take an active interest sometimes, you can do it with your money as a donation sometimes it's more gratifying to do what these people are doing and volunteer your time."
For more information on Habitat for Humanity, visit their Web site.
