BUFFALO, N.Y. — If home is where the heart is, then one house in Buffalo's Ellicott district was bursting at the seams.

“We have about 1,600 volunteers," said Eight Days of Hope team leader Walt Wrazin. "There's about 1,100 from Western New York, and there's about 500 that are from 37 different states and Canada.”

It was one of many sites seeing some much-needed upkeep for Eight Days of Hope. It's an effort started in 2005, when a father and son went to New Orleans to help after Hurricane Katrina.

Those hundreds of volunteers came together to ease some of the burden that home improvement projects can create.

“They supplied materials and work for eight days on recovery," Wrazin explained. "Thus the name Eight Days of Hope."

Since 2017, Rrazin has taken part in projects like these. Each year is a different city district.

“Tonie and Michael are getting brand new windows. They're getting they got a brand new roof. We put a new front door and we're restructuring their front porch so it's secure,” Wrazin listed.

They're efforts that you can’t put a price tag on.

“I said to him, 'I'm gonna have my ugly cry.' You know that one where you're so happy, you're crying and smiling," said homeowner Tonie Sanders with a laugh.

She bought this house eight years ago and tried to get work done, but repeated material thefts meant she was never able to move in.

“They were lumberjacking us; I just learned this word," she added. "It was like a rock and a hard place kind of experience for us.”

Each year, crews like this one try to get 100 home improvement or landscaping projects done over eight days. Four days in, they’d already surpassed that goal.

“They can invest that money elsewhere in their home, or they can help themselves in the future,” said Wrazin.

It's vital for areas like this, which have seen years of divestment and tragedy.

“You look around and you say, 'well, wait a minute. I've been been working two, three jobs. I've been paying my taxes. I've been doing what I was supposed to be doing. How come I'm not participating in the American dream? How come it's not happening for me in my neighborhood?' " said Sanders.

That's why on this day, with every nail and plank installed, there’s hope.

“It builds my faith, it increases it to greater faith," said Sanders. "I know that my hope is anchored in the right place.”

Sanders plans to take care of interior repairs soon and hopes to finally be able to move in at the end of the month.

This year, Eight Days of Hope served 351 families with free home repairs.

Twenty-three families got roof repairs and replacements; 25 families received lead paint removal and house painting; more than 250 families received landscaping; and two parks in the Ellicott District were rejuvenated. It's more than $1 million of donated work.