Couple paint a brighter future

BEN WATSON

BRIGHTER LIFE: Jean Corry, centre, can now find things in her kitchen thanks to an initiative set up by Yvonne and Paul Holcombe.

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A North Shore couple has won a national award for voluntarily brightening up the lives of elderly people.

Paul and Yvonne Holcombe from the Glenfield painting company HDL won best community project at the recent Master Painter awards in Invercargill.

Over the past year they've painted the kitchen or living room of five pensioners including a 90-year-old Milford woman who is partially-sighted.

Jean Corry says she could barely see things in her kitchen when it was a dark colour.

Now that it's been painted she says it's much easier to see the cupboards and find utensils that are now hanging on a lighter background.

"It's made a huge difference," she says.

Paul and Yvonne say it was very humbling to receive the award, but that's not why they did it.

They believe in giving back to the community and say you get out of life what you put in.

The couple have supported a number of community projects in the past but this year their company's manager Paul Green came up with the idea to enrich the lives of the Shore's elderly.

They then contacted Age Concern North Shore to help nominate the most deserving recipients.

Age Concern select people who couldn't normally afford the help or don't have any handymen in their family.

Once a recipient is selected, the Holcombes get their painters on to the job which usually takes about three days and can cost about $800 to $1000.

At the awards ceremony they received a standing ovation which Mrs Holcome says was very touching.

They say they hope they have inspired other people in their industry to undertake projects in their communities.

"It has a huge flow on effect," they say.

- © Fairfax NZ News