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.
Disclaimer:
We are not in any way related to other "housestohomes" sites. Since this site is similar to other (namely real estate) sites, we felt we should let you know. Just FYI.
Prior to creating this site, we had no knowledge of any other "housestohomes" sites. The name came to us on Thursday morning, while Kim was brushing her teeth. Promise. That's just how her mind works. Similarities to any other sites or names thereof are completely coincidental. Questions? Leave us a comment. Thanks!
The Next House
We've got our next project lined up! Starting either Monday or Tuesday of the upcoming week, depending on the certificate of occupancy for the house, we'll be able to start setting up another Austin residence.
DetailsIt's a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house that will be home to a family of 6, including 2 parents and 4 kids. The family should be able to move in by Wednesday!
Needs- Beds: 1-4 twin beds, 1-2 full/queen beds
- Bed linens for each bed
- Various furniture: couches, chairs, tables, bookshelves, etc.
An update from the first family:We're throwing a birthday party for one of the boys tomorrow - it should be a blast! And the dad will be starting a job on Monday! Please keep them in your thoughts as the continue to settle into their new home.
Again, please leave a comment if you are able to donate any of the needed items. More details to come...
Welcome to Houses to Homes!
Houses to Homes is a new way for Austinites (and beyond) to help the Katrina survivors, who are now our neighbors, in a tangible way. As of this posting, we've only been in "operation" for about 4 days. But in that short amount of time, there is already one entire family that now can
really call Austin home.
Within 2 days of offering a vacant house to the City of Austin, our dedicated crew rounded up furniture, groceries, and other supplies, literally turning the
house into a
home.
Stay tuned for updates. We've already heard about 3-4 more houses that are in the works for the next two weeks? Want to help? Leave us a comment and we'll get you the information.
