Creighton’s Knights of Columbus made a change in the life of World War II Navy veteran Jeanne Byers with the help of volunteers from Rebuilding Omaha Together.

The Creighton Knights have decided to focus largely on recruitment this year and thought it would be more prodcutive to use time doing a service project as a recruitment event instead of bowling.

Byers’ home is not built for a wheelchair-bound person. The old wheelchair ramp, narrow doorways and unstable porch made life more difficult for the 86-year-old, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and depends her son’s help to get around.

Byers worked at the Norfolk Naval Hospital during World War II, caring for wounded soldiers and Marines as they made their way home from Europe and doing similar work a nurse would do today. From June 1943 through September 1946 she worked for WAVES, the Navy Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service.

“The idea to do this service project started during our first Creighton Knights of Columbus meeting of the year,” Kevin Ryan, Arts & Sciences sophomore and service committee chair, said.

The Knights have decided to focus largely on recruitment this year and did a service project as a recruitment event instead of their usual bowling.

“I enjoy meeting the homeowners and making new connections within the Omaha community,” Arts & Sciences senior Patrick Carroll, recruitment and retention committee chair, said.

The Knights of Columbus went out on Sept. 10, with volunteers from Rebuilding Together to paint and repair the ceiling inside the house, replace and repaint the front porch, as well as repairing by replacing the wheelchair ramp Byer’s uses to get into

her home.

Carroll said there were four to six prospective Knights at the event.

“We had a quick run-through of what needed to be done and we went to work,” Ryan said.

The League of Human Dignity will upgrade the bathroom, while Rebuilding Together will also make sure the all the systems are working properly and up to code. This will all be paid for by a generous grant from the Sears Heroes at Home program.

“The whole time we were at the house, Mrs. Byers rolled around in her electric scooter telling us how much she appreciated what we were doing,”

Ryan said.

Others were appreciative of the Knights as well, such as Omaha City Councilman Garry Gernandt, who made an appearance at the work site.

“The project went very well, and we were all very glad to be able to repay someone who had served their country in such an outstanding way, especially on the weekend of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, when we all remember those who put themselves in harm’s way so no attacks like those will ever happen again,” Gernandt said.

The service project was a big hit — not just within the community, but with recruits

as well.

“I was happy to help Ms. Byers and I look forward to participating in more Knights activities in the future,” Arts & Sciences sophomore Ed Chapman, a new

recruit, said.