"Christmas in April did the site selection and provided the materials," said Ilana Schatz, director of the Volunteer Action Center. "We recruited volunteers."

They were still working when Schatz left the site at 6:30 p.m. Fifteen agreed to return and finish the painting another time.

The home was one of five in the East Bay to get spruced up. There were two more in Berkeley, one in Pleasanton and one in Concord.

Schatz said it cost $14,000 to fix all five houses. The money came from volunteers, synagogues and a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay.