Come Monday, two homeless families will have a place to call home at Housing Opportunities, thanks to the hard work of around 22 Home Depot employees. “One of our core values is giving back to the community,” stated Ryne Wheatley, assistant manager at the Valparaiso Home Depot and team leader. Home Depot workers spent their time off Thursday and Friday working to rehabilitate two apartments at Housing Opportunities, from painting to completely renovating the bathrooms.
As a company, Home Depot encourages its employees to volunteer locally. Utilizing the United Way, the need at Housing Opportunities was brought to their attention, and the group of workers, from as far away as Lafayette and Fort Wayne, set off to help. The need turned out to be greater than just a paint job, so a grant from the Home Depot Foundation for $7,000 was obtained to provide new flooring, new fixtures, new interior doors, renovate the bathrooms, and give the interior a paint job.
Volunteering is nothing new for this group, as they freshened up the Porter County Animal Shelter last year and will be working on another project for the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department, as well as a grant proposal for the VFW in Valpo. “To give back to the community is so rewarding for us,” Ryne commented. As a company, Home Depot will be donating $30 million towards projects around the country that benefit veterans and low-income housing, a part of their Celebration of Service.
For Housing Opportunities, this project filled a tremendous need. “We have a wish list with the United Way, there’s a lot to be done,” stated Kris Richardson, Property Manager, “We are ecstatic with Home Depot…they have been God sends, they’re angels!”