Some NIU student organizations will be working together this weekend to improve the look of residential DeKalb.

About 20 NIU students will be painting a house Saturday as part of a campaign to help elderly and disabled residents upgrade their standards of living.

eading the group will be junior Edward Kolecke, a member of Alpha Phi Omega.

“We received the job from our fraternity president, Kevin Pruitt, who got us involved, and I just happened to be able to work that weekend,” Kolecke said.

“McWorter (a paint company) will provide as much paint as there are volunteers,” said spokeswoman Jenny Tomkins of Community Contacts Inc., a sponsor of the project.

“Most of the paint-a-thons are concerned with the elderly and the disabled,” Tomkins said.

Three student groups have confirmed working at the paint-a-thon: Circle K, Alpha Psi Lambda and Alpha Phi Omega. About five to six people from each group are expected.

“We plan on getting there around 9:00 in the morning on Saturday and we plan on working for most of the day,” said Kolecke. “

“Edward Kolecke helped build his parent’s house, so I assume that he has the experience necessary to paint the house,” Tomkins said.

McWorter has also sponsored paint-a-thons in Chicago, Rockford, Minneapolis and other cities in the midwest, she said.

The great part to this situation is “it is a coalition of industry and volunteers working together to revitalize a community,” Tomkins said.

Eight other houses in the DeKalb area will be included as part of the paint-a-thon.