Volunteers pitch in to make soldier's homecoming easier - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Many Indiana soldiers fighting abroad have families at home fighting to get through the day. The kids, the job, the housework - it's all more than they can handle alone. This is the story of a Westfield family and strangers who stepped in to help - and what we can all learn from their sacrifice and service.

People Mandy Cooley hardly knows worked like crazy all around her house, weeding, planting painting, cleaning and putting up a new dog run for an overactive puppy. With a big smile she admitted, "This is probably the craziest days I've had since I don't know how long."

And Mandy knows crazy. Husband Phil, an Indiana National Guardsman, is serving in Afghanistan. She's alone with two energetic sons, a job and a home to take care of.

"When it is the end of the day, I sit down, take a breath and I am falling asleep," she said.

Little, simple chores can grow into mountain of work.

"There are times it just feels really overwhelming to think about all the stuff. And it's just stuff that needs to be taken care of and I can't do it by myself," she said.

So a friend, his friends and their understanding boss stepped in. Sgt. Phil Cooley is coming home for some much needed R and R. Mandy and her new friends want to make sure it's rest and relaxation and not two weeks of catching up on months of housework.

Dana Reed, one of the 15 volunteers, trimmed the grass, dug up a dead shrub, then cleaned gutters.

"He's a servant. We're a servant," she said. "That's what it's all about."

That's what Mark Anderson was thinking when he closed his internet employment service, Beyond.com, and gave employees half a day off to volunteer.

"By sponsoring a family and chipping and spending time to help, hopefully other companies will step forward and do something," he explained.

Mandy says she knows plenty of Army spouses who also need help but are too proud to ask. As volunteers rushed around behind her, Mandy said, "I've got a house full of people who are here today who pushed in and said we are going to help. You figure out what you need to get done."

But Mandy adds that she would never ask for help, and neither would her friends whose spouses are serving.

All afternoon, caring but determined volunteers provided some help and peace of mind to a family whose mind is on a loved one, fighting for peace in a war zone.