DALLAS -- Peggy Plaisted’s fence was falling down and she needed help.

The 70-year-old Plano, Texas, resident, retired and living on a fixed income, couldn’t afford to hire a commercial fencing company. So Plaisted turned to social media looking for someone handy to hire.

That’s when she came across the Plain-O Helpers, a group of mostly retired volunteers who do home repair projects for Plano residents over 60 — free of charge.

Soon, a small group of volunteers gathered at her house on a Friday morning to fix her fence.

When all was done, she made a donation to the organization, grateful for their help. As they were leaving, Plaisted asked if they needed more volunteers.

The group didn’t turn down her offer.

Since joining, Plaisted has replaced light bulbs, tested smoke detectors and assisted with plumbing repairs.

“I get a sense of purpose,” Plaisted said. “I’ve retired, and I want to be able to give back and feel that I’ve accomplished something.”

She even replaced her own sprinkler heads, as a more handy volunteer guided her.

The Plain-O Helpers — a pun on “plain old” helpers — was established over two decades ago, inspired by other groups with a focus on home maintenance. It’s one of several groups across Dallas-Fort Worth that provide repair services free of charge to aging populations.

Some of the volunteers have limited mobility or lack certain technical skills, but that doesn’t stop them.

“Seniors helping seniors” is the goal, said 85-year-old lead volunteer David Lucas. Last year, the Helpers completed more than 1,600 home projects for roughly 700 clients, contributing over 9,000 hours of free labor.

They serve residents within the Plano ISD boundaries who are over 60 or who have mobility issues. The cost of supplies is covered mostly by donations from clients who can afford to pay it forward.

Plano, like other cities in Collin County, is aging. The median age in 2010 was 37.2 and is projected to be 44.5 by 2030, according to the city’s demographic data. About 16% of the population of Plano is 65 years or older, according to U.S. Census data. Plano has the second-highest median age among major cities in Collin County, which leans older than Dallas County.

Volunteer Dave Corder was sweating under the Texas sun Friday morning to fix a loose board on the back porch of another neighbor in need.

Judi Saltzman noticed how Corder had trouble walking yet he persevered to help fix her deck.

Saltzman, 68, has requested the services of the Plain-O Helpers multiple times since she moved into her house in 2016. Now retired, sometimes she’s had money for a donation, and sometimes she hasn’t. Either way, the volunteers have been just as helpful.

“They make a big difference in my life,” Saltzman said. With most of her family based in San Antonio, she said she no longer worries about who to call when something needs fixing around her home.

“When I bought this house, I bought it to age in place, and they’re helping me do that.”

From installing grab bars in her bathtub to prevent falls to cleaning the dryer vent to avoid fires, the Helpers fill in a gap for projects that Saltzman, or her daughter and 7-year-old grandson who live with her, cannot do alone.

Many clients fear being charged hundreds of dollars for simple repairs.

“I trust them more than somebody from a home improvement store,” Saltzman said.

The group — 63 volunteers in total — gets referrals from the city and the fire department, as well as word-of-mouth references. While the core group of volunteers completes their work on Fridays, some contribute nearly full-time, answering phones or organizing supply lists, according to lead volunteer Jeff Wacker.

Wacker, 74, said most volunteers join to learn new skills and give back to their community. There’s another reason: Spouses want their retired partners to spend time out of the house.

Every Friday, around 40 volunteers — clad in matching blue shirts and blue baseball caps — gather in the parking lot of Custer United Methodist Church to divide up the day’s tasks. Groups of two or three grab pre-packed toolkits and travel to the homes of fellow retirees.

“We’re not the plumber with the plumber’s crack,” Wacker joked. They don’t keep their heads down. They engage. “We talk,” Wacker said.

Many of their clients are widows who don’t have the financial support they used to, he said, but still want to remain in their homes.

“Many of them would not be able to live out their dream if it weren’t for us maintaining and repairing,” said volunteer Patrick Robinson, 71, who began volunteering through his church. He wanted to continue working with his hands and acquire new skills.

Robinson said he can’t walk up to a house anymore without inspecting it for leaking windows or squeaky doors.

“Who would have thought that putting lightbulbs in would get an emotional reaction from somebody?” he said. “It’s simple for us. It’s major for them.”

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