Home Makers of Hope seeking volunteers to help low-income families
TAMPA, Fla. - When volunteers with Home Makers of Hope pull their truck filled with furniture up to a home, they know they are about to make a difference to a family going through a difficult time.
Pam Stamey, the president of Home Makers of Hope, said the organization furnishes homes for low-income families or families in crisis.
"We put dishes in the cabinets, we make the beds. We bring the couches, we bring everything," said Stamey. "So, that family really gets rebooted right back to where they should be."
Lissette Hope and her family is one of Home Makers of Hope's clients. Stamey said the family's home burnt down and they lost everything. Now, they are turning their rental house into a decorated home.
"Honestly, it takes the stress away," said Hope.
Volunteer Lucy Mangan makes sure the furniture is placed with a decorator's touch.
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"We're called a home liaison. So, we go out, we meet the families, we interview them, we measure their space, we take a look at what their needs are, and then we come back, you know, regroup in the warehouse on Tuesday mornings, and we select everything from our warehouse," said Mangan.
"We don't want to just go in and dump furniture. That is not what we do," said Stamey. "We want to go in, and we want to walk away and say, ‘I could live in that house. I could live in that house.’ That house is completely organized exactly the way it should be."
And that can only be possible with the help of these volunteers. Stamey said they are 100% reliant on volunteers.
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"And the more volunteers we have, the more families we can help. And that is our biggest, issue," she said.
"It takes a lot of muscle to lift furniture, but you don't have to lift furniture to volunteer for homemakers. You can hang pictures on the walls. You don't have to be an interior decorator. You just have to have a knack for that," said Stamey. "And that's what a lot of this is, is moms and dads, retired people. People with disabilities."
It's giving time to transform homes and lives in the process.
"Just someone doing nice stuff in the world to other people means a lot, you know, just caring about each other," said Hope. "So, I definitely appreciate them helping, volunteering, spending, taking their time out to do that for me."
"I think that it's so important to build your community up," said Mangan. "The need is so great that we need everybody to come and help. And, it'll do more for you than you've done for the people. It'll change your life."
For more information about volunteer opportunities with Home Makers of Hope, visit www.homemakersofhope.com/volunteer.