WOODBRIDGE — Fran and Louis Krasovic will celebrate Christmas twice this year.

The couple, both in their 80s, have had trouble in recent years maintaining the upkeep of their house.

As one of 16 recipients of this year’s Rebuilding Together with Christmas in April, an organization that began in Woodbridge in 2000 through a collaboration between the township and the Department of Housing, the Krasovics were visited for three days from volunteers who painted their living room and kitchen and the whole exterior of their house.

Fran Krasovic said she loves what the volunteers, mostly firefighters from Fire District 1, did for her home.

Fire District No. 1 volunteer and Local 290 firefighters put the finishing touches on the Krasovic house. The Krasovics were recipients of Christmas in April, a program that coordinates volunteers to renovate senior citizens’ homes that have fallen into disrepair. Photo: Miguel Juarez/Woodbridge Sentinel

"Oh, this is beautiful," Krasovic said in her newly-painted living room. "I had a vanilla yellow color in here and I was getting so sick of it."

With her home still smelling of freshly-coated white paint, Krasovic told the story of how she and her husband came to be on the list of houses that hundreds of volunteers participate in renovating each year.

"My daughter saw an ad in the newspaper for this, so she called [the Department of Housing]. [Director] Donna Brightman called us back and she came over and interviewed us and we were eligible. So they came over and painted the living room and the kitchen and did the whole outside of our house," she said.

Krasovic said she used to paint the inside of her house and her husband would paint the outside, but now the couple’s medical conditions prevent them from doing the work.

Woodbridge volunteer firefighter Pedro Alfaro paints the exterior of Fran and Louis Krasovic’s house in Sewaren during Rebuilding Together with Christmas in April last Saturday. Photo: Miguel Juarez/Woodbridge Sentinel

"I have a heart problem and he has a heart problem," Krasovic said, pointing to her husband. "And we just can’t do it anymore. This was a godsend."

The 14 firefighters who power washed and painted the house said they were happy to do it.

"It’s a community project that lets people know we’re not just firefighters," Fire District 1 Fire Commissioner Richard Gould said.

This is the second year that the fire district, consisting of career firefighters from Fire Local 290 and volunteer firefighters, have participated in Christmas in April under Fire Commissioner John Kenny, who acts as the group’s house captain.

"It’s a worthwhile cause," Kenny said last Saturday. "It helps people and keeps houses looking good."

Kenny said the firefighters also install smoke detectors in any houses that do not have them.

Later in the day, the firefighters were relocated to another house down the street because they had finished with the Krasovics’ house. There, they were joined by students from Colonia High School. The students were initially stationed at Greiner Towers for the day.

"There were so many people over there helping that we were running out of things to do," said Melissa Foldhazy, 17, of Avenel.

"It’s been a lot of fun," said Danielle Russo, 16, of Avenel. "We’ve been painting. We wanted to do that all day, because we raked a lot at Greiner."

Woodbridge volunteer firefighter Brian Fee works on the Krasovic’s house in Sewaren during Rebuilding Together with Christmas in April last Saturday. Photo: Miguel Juarez/Woodbridge Sentinel

The students, coordinated by Suzanne MacIntyre, a teacher a Colonia High School, said there are two advantages for students in participating in Christmas in April.

"I like to help out the elderly and it looks good on my college application," Tommy Byrne, 16, said as he was mowing the lawn.

Suzanne’s husband, Gerald MacIntyre, is the director of public works. He also stopped by the house on Old Road. MacIntyre said volunteers from his department also participate in Christmas in April.

"Three volunteers go to each one of the homes being worked on and pick up the refuse and debris so it looks like there isn’t anything left behind," he said.

Across town, in Fords, members of the Woodbridge Housing Authority (WHA) were working on a Ford Avenue home owned by Sam Napolitano.

Daniel Brandon, a former painter with the WHA, said he is currently unemployed but he enjoys helping out the senior citizens.

"It keeps me busy. It’s something to do," he said. "It feels good to do this. I’m for the senior citizens."

WHA maintenance worker Al Adams, house captain of Napolitano’s home, said he has been participating in Christmas in April since its inception.

"I actually like doing this stuff for the people," he said. "It’s nice to do things for people like this who can’t do it for themselves."

Brightman said this year’s Rebuilding Together with Christmas in April was a success. Approximately 350 volunteers participated to rehabilitate 16 homes. Brightman estimated that $30,000 to $35,000 was donated in funds and materials for this year’s effort from private and corporate donors.

When Brightman left her office as Paterson’s housing director for Woodbridge in 2000, she brought Christmas in April with her, she said.

Since then, the national organization, which has 272 affiliates, has renamed itself Rebuilding Together, but everyone in Woodbridge knows the project as Christmas in April so she incorporates the two names in the title.

Brightman said the organization is a separate entity from the WHA and has its own board of directors. Rebuilding Together with Christmas in April will actually expand, Brightman said, into a countywide program in the future.