FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 15, 2005

CONTACT: Dolph Pulliam, Director of Community Outreach at Drake University,
(515) 271-3084 or 201-7166 (cell), dolph.pulliam@drake.edu
Allen Coppock, (515) 554-3301

DRAKE STUDENTS TO PAINT 14 HOMES IN CARPENTER NEIGHBORHOOD

Fourteen homes in the Carpenter Neighborhood near Drake University will get a fresh new paint job on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 and 18, thanks to Des Moines paint contractor Allen Coppock and 100 to 150 Drake students.

The house-painting project will encompass two blocks in the Carpenter Neighborhood in the area bounded by 23rd Street, Carpenter Avenue and 22nd Street just north of University Avenue. The volunteers will begin painting each day at 9 a.m. at 22nd Street and Carpenter Avenue and continue into the evening.

The Parade of Painted Homes started as an idea to restore some of the once great historical neighborhoods of Des Moines. This event differs from paint-a-thon because large sections of neighborhood streets change dramatically. Almost every house on the two blocks will be transformed.

Nine painting contractors, five paint companies and up to 150 volunteers from Drake fraternities and sororities are providing the materials and labor. Coppock, the Parade of Painted Homes founder, hopes this can be a yearly event where many of Des Moines' neighborhoods benefit.

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