Katrina Efforts - Update
Howdy! This is just a quick update to let you know that for the most part, Houses to Homes in Austin has concluded most of its activities. We have partnered with
Grace Covenant Church, which is working with the
Austin Bridge Builders Alliance, to continue to assist Katrina victims still living in the Austin area. Please direct any questions to them.
Thank you so much to those of you who donated your time, efforts, stuff, vehicles and living spaces. Your work is tremendously encouraging. Keep up the great work!
Activities this weekend
For those of you checking in to see what's going on for Saturday, we're still working to formulate a plan. Updated details will be published once we know who in town needs what furniture. We'll look to get started either early on Saturday morning (between 8-11ish) or sometime on Saturday afternoon (after the Texas/OU game is over).
Stay tuned for more details. Thanks!
Our cups runneth over
As of late, we've been getting a great deal of donations. Don't get us wrong, we're
so thankful for everything that people have sent to us. From ovens, to pillows, from dressers to chairs - it's all so incredible. The storage shed is almost at capacity, so we're using more space from a friend's garage.
Now the task is getting it all to the right people at the right time. We're contacting Katrina's Help yet again to see who needs what. So over the next few weeks, we hope to start clearing some of this stuff out and getting it to where the needs are.
Thanks again to everyone who has volunteered or donated in recent weeks. You are all incredible people, and none of this could be done without you. We've got some openings this week for deliveries and pick-ups, so let us know if you're available.
Thank you!
I just wanted to take the opportunity to say a hearty
thank you to everyone who has helped make this effort successful. From driving trucks, to loading furniture, to making donations - we thank you. We couldn't do any of this without you!
The latest...
Sorry for the very delayed post - I've honestly been too busy to write anything. But that in no way means that nothing has been happening on the Houses to Homes front. Quite to the contrary, really.
Last week we were able to complete another house. That makes our third complete house, not to mention the countless individuals that we've just given things away to. Anyhow, the house went really well. When we showed up in our three trucks with about 7 people, we found Penny in her driveway with a video camera. She taped us unloading, setting up, and decorating for the next 3 hours. It was so incredible!
She had a huge, but sweet dog who helped out with some comic relief. The guys did a great job of hauling the furniture around town and around the house. And the girls did quite a number on the kitchen and the bedrooms. All in all, it was such a great evening.
Towards the end of the evening, the family from our first house showed up and we had a little party. There were about 20 people in the house at one time, but we all had a great time. It was fun to see everyone enjoying themselves!
This past weekend, we made some drop-offs and grabbed a few more pieces of furniture. The storage shed is now close to capacity, as is our garage. We dropped some things by Ronnie's house yesterday, and it was such a treat. He wound up
giving us a king mattress and a couch. Our trucks had more things in them when we left than when we arrived! What a blessing it was to spend time with him. He had been through a lot, wading through 6 foot deep water to flee from his home in New Orleans, and arriving in Austin via a cargo jet. But he's doing fine now, settling into his apartment, looking to make a new home here in a new city.
Room to grow
Well, I apologize for the lack of updates. It's been a whirlwind around here lately. We've been busy collecting donations from people. Robert finally secured a storage unit for us, and we began filling it up last night.
We've got a few more houses lined up, but we're still playing it by ear on when we can start setting those up. Should be sometime in the next week, hopefully.
I spoke at church this past week and we've gotten a great deal of emails in response. Tons of people want to help, we just have to work at managing all of it. The team is doing a great job, but more help is always welcome. Let us know if you want to help out - we'd love to sign you up!
More houses on the way!
Thanks so much for those of you who have pitched in so far. We're accomplishing so much, and we couldn't do it without the whole team! Great work everyone!
A lot has happened over the past few days. I'll do my best to briefly summarize what we've got going on this week. Questions? Just leave a comment and we'll follow up with you. Thanks!
Housing UpdateAfter completing the first house last week, we're currently working on 2 more over the next few days. One will soon be home to a family of 6, and another will be home to two single moms and their three kids. Both setups and move-ins should be complete by Sunday at the latest.
Donation UpdateWe've been busy touring Central Texas, picking up various household items including a washer/dryer set, several tables, several beds, and lots of other bath and kitchen stuff. We're currently working to organize what we have and make the best use of our limited storage space. If you know of anyone with spare room in their garage, let us know - we'll put it to good use.
We always have a need for more furniture, but currently we do not need additional kitchen items. Moving forward, we will not be collecting clothing. We feel that other established organizations better meet the clothing need.
Current NeedsAs always, the more beds the better. Specifically, we need twin beds (mattresses, box springs, frames). As we continue to get more families with more kids, twin beds come in quite handy. Likewise, twin bedding is also useful. If you're donating linens, please make sure they're in usable/good shape.
The word is spreading...After meeting with several of the pastors, I've been offered the opportunity to speak at
Grace Covenant church in all three services this coming Sunday. Additionally, Home Fixers has been featured on
Channel 36 as they do an "Extreme Makeover" on one of their houses. Houses to homes is not directly related to that effort, but it's great to see similar efforts going on around town.
