Sunrise Hosts Surprise Dedicated Volunteer with Backyard Makeover

Sunrise hosts Nat Barr and Matt Shirvington left Noreen Elliott fighting back tears when they surprised the Victorian woman with a garden makeover to support her 43 years of volunteering with St Vincent de Paul.

Nat and Matt gave the 89-year-old quite a surprise when they knocked on her door. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sunrise stars Nat and Matt surprise woman with backyard makeover. Stream Sunrise free on 7plus.

‘We are giving you a helping hand, on our very first helping hand day,’ Shirvo told Noreen. ‘You have been so wonderful, we want to send you on a staycation as all these tradies renovate your yard,’ Nat Barr added.

Noreen was left stunned by the surprise. ‘God bless you all. All I can say is thank you very, very much,’ Noreen said.

It was then tradesman Nathan and the rest of the crew got to work. Nathan confirmed he would be ‘redoing the steps,’ at the front of the house, along with the carport.

The lifelong volunteer will also be getting a wraparound deck and a replacement fence. The selfless tradies will also landscape her backyard. The helping hand won’t cost Noreen a cent — all the men from Carpentry Australia were volunteering for the project in order to make her wish come true.

‘That’s a lot of work. Nat and I aren’t going to be helpful,’ Shirvo joked. ‘All these guys from Carpentry Australia team are volunteering — that in itself is amazing. Give yourselves a round of applause,’ he added.

President of St Vincent de Paul, Michael Quinn, said Noreen was a worthy recipient. ‘For a person who has donated 43 years of her life, caring and supporting others, and she’s been excellent in doing that,’ he said. ‘Noreen’s (now) a woman on her own, an elderly woman, and we chose this property because it needed a lot of work.’

The team plans to unveil the finished yard on Friday. Nat thanked all the businesses helping make the dream a reality. ‘Special thank you to all the trades that jumped on board to help. You can find all the details on the Sunrise website for all the suppliers and trades assisting with the makeover.’