High Life : A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Painting the Town : Helping hands: More than 1,000 teens and adults join forces to redo homes of senior citizens. Project was called ‘Paint Your Heart Out, Anaheim.’

It’s amazing the difference a coat of paint can make.

That was the inspirational idea behind “Paint Your Heart Out, Anaheim,” which in its second year helped to spruce up the exteriors of 38 homes in the city earlier this month. “We think it went great,” said Carolyn Griebe, coordinator of the daylong event. “All the homeowners were pleased.”

The home improvement campaign, designed to assist senior citizen homeowners who are living on relatively low incomes, was sponsored by local businesses and volunteer groups.

One of the houses that received a fresh outlook is owned by Ted Ballou. “I think it’s swell,” said the homeowner, who is partially paralyzed as the result of a stroke.

Nearly 1,000 teen-age and adult volunteers formed 38 groups to put in a good day’s work.

“Last night, I came here and washed the house down, and a couple weeks before, we sanded it down a little bit. Today is just the big job of painting it,” said team co-captain Michelle Schroeder, who helped paint Ballou’s house on Bush Street.

“It’s fun, though,” said Schroeder, who is a senior at Western High School in Anaheim. “I mean, it’s hard work and stuff, but it doesn’t seem like it when you’re with your friends, getting in paint fights. You get more paint on you than on the house.”

She looked down from her stepladder at plants speckled with paint. “We’re going for that Christmas look,” she explained.

“Time flies when you’re having fun with your friends,” said Sara Dudheker, another senior from Western who became involved in the project through her school’s Key Club.

In addition to painting, volunteer workers also refurbished three driveways, built a fence, did some gardening work and checked for plumbing leaks.

The day went off virtually without a hitch, except that two volunteer groups were forced to cancel at the last minute because of the curfew imposed in Los Angeles.

“We just filled in with other volunteers, but we really had to scramble,” Griebe said. Still, 26 of last year’s 28 groups returned to tackle new projects. “Everyone was very supportive,” Griebe added.

And the homeowners, too, were involved from the start.

“They picked out the colors, and if they had any concerns, we talked about them,” Griebe said. “If (any volunteer) started saying, ‘You can’t do this’ or ‘You can’t do that,’ I said this project wasn’t the thing for them.”

Ballou, who oversaw the painting of his house from the comfort of a lawn chair, said he had no fear of turning loose eight high school students on his peaceful abode.

“I’m used to kids,” he said. “I used to be in the scouts.”

Homes were found through free advertisements that ran in The Times Orange County and Anaheim Beautiful, and by distributing 5,000 “Paint Your Heart Out” brochures.

“I just sent in the card,” said Ballou, describing how he was able to have his house painted for the first time in 10 years.

“It’s in good condition,” Schroeder said of the house’s exterior. “It just needs a touch-up.”

Among the other county high schools that participated were Katella, Servite and Cornelia Connelly.