TAMPA - 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.
"We furnish houses for low-income families or families in crises. We put dishes in the cabinets, we make the beds. We bring the couches, we bring everything. So that family really gets rebooted right back to where they should be", said Pam Stamey, President of Home Makers of Hope.
One of their clients is Lissette Hope and her family. They are turning their rental house into a decorated home.
"Their home burnt down to the ground. They lost everything," said Stamey.
"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. 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," said Stamey.
And that can only be possible with the help of these volunteers.
"We are 100% reliant on them. And the more volunteers we have, the more families we can help. And that is our biggest issue. 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. And that's what a lot of this is, is moms and dads, retired people. People with disabilities", said Stamey.
It's giving time to transform homes and lives in the process.
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"Just someone doing nice stuff in the world to other people means a lot, you know, just caring about each other. So, I definitely appreciate them helping, volunteering, spending, taking their time out to do that for me", said Hope.
"I think that it's so important to build your community up. 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," said Mangan.
For more information about volunteer opportunities with Home Makers of Hope, click here.
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