LEWISTON – Monday through Friday Dan D’Auteuil works as a lawyer.

In summer-like weather on Saturday, he was one of 40 volunteers painting and repairing the Hope House building, a nonprofit resource center for unwed mothers.

“Who needs brown? We have a lot of brown to do,” D’Auteuil said standing on the front porch as he rested his brush.

Saturday was National Rebuilding Together Day. Across the country some 4,000 homes were improved and made safer, said Mike Grimmer of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. Rebuilding Together Lewiston-Auburn tackled two homes, the Hope House on College Street and a home in Minot.

Sixty volunteers, including bankers, home builders, Bates College staff and students, Lewiston High School students, retirees and parents, turned out to help.

The goal of the annual event is to help homeowners who can’t afford to maintain their homes, Grimmer said. “Their homes are falling down around them.”

Usually the group makes improvements on single-family homes. This year, volunteers repaired a leaky roof and insulated pipes at the Minot home of a single mother with three children, in addition to working on Hope House.

“The Hope House helps 600 pregnant women every year,” Grimmer said. “They need some help. They’re limited on money. The board decided it was a perfect fit for us.”

Improvements at Hope House on Saturday included painting the exterior, replacing windows, stabilizing the front porch, cleaning junk out of the basement, repairing a fence and fixing the storage shed roof.

Bruce Willson, Hope House co-director, was all smiles.

The building will be safer and will look better, he said. The front porch had been sagging and drooping. “We didn’t like pregnant women and moms walking across the porch. They put in posts underneath and got it nice and tight.”

The house also badly needed paint, he said. “They’re doing electrical work, fixing lights that weren’t working, replacing switches.” Members of the Lewiston High lacrosse team cleaned junk out of the cellar, filling a waste container the size of a semi trailer.

Hope House is run by Willson and his wife, Jan. It provides parenting classes and support groups for single mothers and their children. In addition to parenting and nutrition classes, mothers can get diapers, clothing and baby items, and access some prenatal and well-baby care.

Single mothers at Hope House range from pregnant teenagers to grandmothers who find themselves in custody of their grandchildren.

Hope House has been on College Street in a former single-family home since 1995. Saturday was the first time it received an extensive improvement, Willson said.

Saturday was also Bates College National Day of Service. Alumni in 23 cities across the country were volunteering, said Marty Teschaines of Bates College.

“We’re on vacation,” said Bates College student Nina Slote, who with Gwinneth Johnson was painting the porch. “This is for a good cause,” Slote said. “I like being part of something.”

Participating organizations included Northeast Bank, Isaacson and Raymond, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Lewiston Paint and Wallpaper, Sam’s, Precision Builders, Mason Brothers Construction, Bates College, Androscoggin Valley Board of Realtors, Nason Mechanical Systems, Lewiston Housing Authority, George and Shawn Greenwood, Bradco, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Hahnel Bros.