MERETA — A Saturday morning of service brought volunteers from three San Angelo churches together to help make life a little easier for a local family.

Ten volunteers from Sierra Vista United Methodist Church, Wesley Trinity United Methodist Church and St. Luke United Methodist Church gathered Aug. 1 at the home of Victoro and Claudia Cuevas in Mereta to build a wheelchair ramp through the Texas Ramp Project.

Working from about 7:30 to 10:30 a.m., the group completed a 32-foot ramp in approximately three hours.

The project came at a time when safe access to the home had become especially important for the Cuevas family. Mrs. Cuevas recently experienced a medical condition that will require her to use a wheelchair for the foreseeable future.

While the home already had a concrete ramp, it was too steep for her to use safely. The newly constructed ramp provides a safer incline and gives her greater freedom to enter and leave her home.

For people who rely on wheelchairs or walkers, something as ordinary as a few steps outside a home can become a significant barrier. The Texas Ramp Project builds wheelchair ramps at no cost to recipients, helping people remain independent and safely access their homes.

The nonprofit relies on volunteer labor, with much of its expenses going toward lumber and other building materials. Funding comes from sources including churches, foundations, service clubs, health care agencies, corporate sponsors and individual donors.

Saturday's project was hosted by Sierra Vista United Methodist Church and led by Mike Edinburgh and the church's Serendipity Sunday School class. Volunteers were also joined by the Rev. Ken Wadley of Wesley Trinity United Methodist Church and the Rev. Glenn Luhrs of St. Luke United Methodist Church.

But the morning was about more than construction.

The Cuevas' son, Andrew, joined the volunteers in building the ramp. As they worked, he shared stories about growing up in the home, which was part of a working farm, and spoke about his memories of his father and his childhood there.

The volunteers also had an opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie that came with working alongside others committed to serving their neighbors. The Cuevas family added another memorable touch to the morning by sharing homemade banana bread with the crew.

For Luhrs, seeing members of different congregations working side by side was an important part of the project.

“It was encouraging to see churches from across San Angelo come together with a shared commitment to serving our neighbors,” Luhrs said. “The project showed what can happen when congregations work side by side to meet a practical need with compassion and care.”

The Mereta build is one example of work taking place across the state through the Texas Ramp Project. What began as a small Dallas-area program more than 39 years ago was incorporated in 2006 and expanded into other areas of Texas.

Since then, volunteers have constructed more than 28,000 ramps. Despite that work, the need remains significant: The organization says it receives about twice as many referrals each year as it can fulfill.

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Want to volunteer? Go to https://texasramps.org/volunteer/

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