District Grant Project: Homeless Shelter
Posted by Susan Hansen on May 01, 2016
Our club's district grant project this year involved refurbishing the family homeless shelter in East Hartford. Rotarian Michael Kerrigan, Director of the local YMCA, took the lead on organizing the work for the project. Through meetings with the shelter manager, our club learned that the shelter needed painting and minor carpentry repairs, and hoped for a new washer and dryer and flooring. Our Rotary club had asked for $3000 in district grant funds and added an additional $1500 of our own money, giving us a total budget of $4500 for this project.Through some of the many valuable connections we Rotarians make with other members of the community, the club was able to arrange for the shelter's washing machine to be repaired and for a new dryer to be delivered. Through the generosity of Red Thread, new flooring was donated and installed. On several Saturdays in March, club members worked in shifts throughout the day at the shelter painting doors, stairs, walls and storage cubbies and doing minor repairs. Because we were able to arrange for many donations of services and materials, we asked the district for permission to use leftover funds to purchase two new televisions for the shelter's community rooms. We received that approval and were able to purchase two 50" Samsung televisions. Working behind the scenes on this grant project was Rotarian Mary Martin who wrote the original grant proposal, tracked all related expenses and receipts, and submitted the final grant report. Thanks to her diligence with the paperwork, our final grant report was approved.
Project Lead Michael Kerrigan had this to say about the impact of the project, "A few months back I went to measure some of the rooms to get an idea of how much paint to purchase. I noticed a small boy sitting on his mother's lap; he had to be about two years old. When he saw me, he smiled and laughed, and ran to the row of cubbies. He wanted to play hide and seek. I peeked around the corner of the cubby and surprised him; he laughed more and ran to his mom. At that moment all I could think of was how happy he would be when this shelter, his home, was all fixed up and beautiful.
The YMCA recently signed up two families from the shelter for full scholarships to summer camp and one teen for a year membership to our drop-in center. This project was really just the beginning for the work and impact the Y and Rotary will have on those families who live at the shelter. My hope is with the care we can provide, the parents will be able to get on their feet, find work, and find a new path in life."
The YMCA recently signed up two families from the shelter for full scholarships to summer camp and one teen for a year membership to our drop-in center. This project was really just the beginning for the work and impact the Y and Rotary will have on those families who live at the shelter. My hope is with the care we can provide, the parents will be able to get on their feet, find work, and find a new path in life."
