An old woman calls an electrician for a repair: when he sees that the house is falling apart, he offers to fix it for free

by Alison Forde

January 14, 2021

An old woman calls an electrician for a repair: when he sees that the house is falling apart, he offers to fix it for free
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Sometimes, we accidentally run into situations that we can't ignore, even if they don't affect us personally. When we understand that someone is in trouble, unless their life is at risk, we may very well decide not to offer our too much help: but what kind of people would that make us? John Kinney, an electrician from Woburn, Massachusetts (USA), couldn't help but return to the home of an elderly lady, for whom he had resolved various technical problems with her electricity supply. John had been called in to fix some lights, but once he entered the house, he noticed that problems and faults were present practically throughout the entire apartment. Over the weekend he thought about the old woman who, alone and without much money, had to live in those uncomfortable conditions. A thought that led him to act personally.

via Youtube / CBS Evening News

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Youtube / CBS Evening News

Youtube / CBS Evening News

Gloria Scott, a 72-year-old lonely woman, had called John to have some lights fixed, but the problems she had at home went far beyond what the electrician had expected: "Half of her lights were completely gone, in the kitchen there was no stove and the refrigerator was plugged into an extension cable. I resolved the most urgent issues first to remove the immediate electrical hazards, then I turned on the lights and the air conditioning. When all the lights went on, I saw that her ceilings were falling down, the kitchen sink was broken and the house in general was pretty dirty, "said John.

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Facebook/John Kinney

Facebook/John Kinney

The elderly woman didn't have any family members willing to help her and not even enough money to cover all the expenses for the repairs. So John then decided to help her himself, offering her his work for free and organizing a series of volunteers, including his brother Dan, to refurbish Gloria's house. Leaving her to her own resources was not a viable option.

Facebook/John Kinney

Facebook/John Kinney

After assembling a dedicated team of volunteers (Gloria's Gladiators), John also opened a fundraiser to "help a nice elderly lady in need". The response from the whole neighborhood was huge - Gloria didn't imagine she could attract so much affection!

Facebook/John Kinney

Facebook/John Kinney

In addition to the interior of the house, the exteriors also needed to be secured and renovated. The volunteers even took care of taming the garden, which had grown into a jungle!

Youtube / CBS Evening News

Youtube / CBS Evening News

The help he gave to Gloria was just the beginning of a great and beautiful project: Gloria's Gladiators, as they call themselves, are "a group of professionals and volunteers who can be called upon to help any elderly person in need".

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Facebook/John Kinney

Facebook/John Kinney

A beautiful story, which instills faith in others and which reminds us of how in life, you can always ask for help.

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