Cindy Jeffers spends more than $80 per week at the laundromat to ensure that her grandson, Jeremiah, who suffers from cerebral palsy, never has to wear dirty clothes.

Jeremiah can neither walk nor talk, and depends on his grandmother for all of his needs. Jeffers, who herself suffers from lupus, raises 12-year-old Jeremiah and his younger brother, Aiden, on her own.

Jeffers ignores her own joint pain when she lifts the near 100-pound Jeremiah into the bathtub at their 2,500-square-feet Hathaway Street home. His wheelchair doesn't fit into the bathroom.

It's a challenge. But Jeffers' life is about to get a little bit easier.

New Bedford-based Fernandes Masonry, charities Cameron's Kids, Team Noah, and the Trevor and Jordan Alves Foundation, as well as a whole lot of volunteers, have taken on "Jeremiah's Project," which will overhaul the family's house in just one week.

Jeffers, Jeremiah, and Aiden were sent to Hyannis in a limo on Friday morning, where they will enjoy a stay in a hotel for the next week.

With tears in their eyes, approximately 60 volunteers immediately got to work.

Just six hours later, the house was gutted. The walls were built for a new laundry room and the roof was going on. The siding was ripped off the house. An excavator was digging in preparation for a new wheelchair ramp.

It began with loving neighbors Paula and Charlie Barros.

The couple helps Jeffers daily — whether with laundry, watching the children while she goes grocery shopping, or putting Jeremiah on the school bus. They have been working to raise money to pay for things that the family needs, such as a wheelchair-accessible van and a hydraulic lift.

In January, the New Bedford Standard-Times featured the family's story. It was published just one week after Cameron's Kids founder Debbie Goulart of Marion and her husband, Jeffrey, had lost their son, 18-year-old Cameron, to cerebral palsy.

"I and the rest of the family thought it was a message from Cameron" that the foundation should do something, Debbie Goulart recalled. "Cameron was the rock to my family."

Goulart's father, Nelson Cardoso, then sat down with Victor Fernandes, a friend, to see if his company could help Cameron's Kids help the Jeffers family.

It turns out that Fernandes and his wife, Christine, had also seen the newspaper article and wanted to help in some way. Their foundation, Team Noah — named for their 11-year-old son who suffers from mitochondrial disease — then teamed with Cameron's Kids and the Trevor and Jordan Alves Foundation to give Jeffers the surprise of a lifetime.

First, Christine Fernandes recalled, her husband wanted to buy the family a washer and dryer.

Christine told him: "There's no place to put the washer and dryer."

"He said, 'OK, we'll build them a laundry room,'" Christine said.

And, well... the project really snowballed from there.

Asked what the crew would be doing to the house, Victor said Friday: "I guess the question is, what are we not doing?"

Jeremiah's bedroom will be handicap-accessible, and he's getting his own, brand new handicap-accessible bathroom. The entire kitchen is getting redone. The home will have all new appliances and furniture. The roof, floors, and driveway are all being redone, and each room is getting a fresh coat of paint.

"We're almost doubling the size of the house," Victor said.

Nearly everything — from labor to materials and landscaping supplies — has been donated.

Paula and Charlie Barros are humbled by the support of their beloved friend.

"It was just meant to happen," said Paula, who was able to pay for a remodel, though not an expansion, of the family's bathroom after a fundraiser late last year.

Jeffers "thinks they're going to just add a little room," Charlie said with a smile.

Paula added: "She knows that they're going to have a handicap bathroom and a washroom. And I told her they're going to do her kitchen cabinets." (Wareham Week has been assured that she won't be peeking on the internet to see what's going on!)

Volunteers wore bright green "Jeremiah's Project" T-shirts, which were made even brighter by the beaming sun on Friday afternoon.

"It's just amazing," Christine Fernandes said as she watched the house transform minute by minute. "Hopefully someone will see this and pay it forward. That's what it's all about."

Goulart is just happy to be able to help a family that is not much different than her own.

"I learned so much about life from Cameron … the inspiration, and the courage that these children have," Goulart said. "I'm a firm believer that the man upstairs has it all under control."

Donations for the Jeremiah Jeffers project are still being accepted. Anything that does not go toward the bill will be used for the family's other needs, such as tax expenses and purchasing an accessible van. Checks can be made out to the Jeremiah Jeffers Fund at Eastern Bank. The address for Eastern Bank is PO Box 431, Wareham, MA, 02571.