The Southlake Depot partnered with GRACE’s Friends & Family program, which provides provisions, companionship, and support to isolated, disabled or immobile seniors in the community. The team was charged with selecting worthy Grapevine residents who needed improvements on their home.
Willie and her husband, Vietnam veteran Ronald O’Guinn, call Grapevine home, but in recent months their house has been more of a burden than a home. The two have faced incredible hardship after a stroke left Ronald unable to speak, along with emotional and physical ramifications that left a long lapse in home repairs.
The Home Depot Foundation collaborates with local organizations to identify families of honorably discharged veterans or individuals in need of home repair or other construction services, so the Southlake team set out to find a deserving family to share their resources with.
The Southlake staff completed maintenance work to the entire home, including fixing the front door (which would not latch to lock), resealing doors, countertops and windows, beautifying the kitchen with paint and new lights, disability modifications to the bathrooms for increased safety, and beautification of their yard with flowers and mulch.
“The tasks themselves were small in comparison to the thrill it bought the O’Guinn family,” says Friends & Family Coordinator Maryann Waddell. “The Home Depot crew left the couple greatly encouraged, along with a safer place to call home!”
Sometimes the type of hardship that takes its toll on a family’s ability to complete daily or even commonplace tasks produces emotional trauma or shame that prevents them from seeking outside assistance.
Friends & Family, in particular, is a personalized, approachable program that allows local seniors to have their needs met across the gamut—from companionship, commodities, groceries and safety measures to one’s home.
Your support allows GRACE to be a voice to the community about families struggling in our midst. Our community’s unique devotion to our service members and seniors are a tribute to this phenomenal community, and we were honored to facilitate a project that encouraged, renewed and protected a deserving local family.
Special thanks to the Southlake Home Depot and the Home Depot Foundation for devoting their resources to this project!
Inspired to serve?
Participating in the Friends & Family program, which provides assistance and companionship to displaced or immobile seniors, is a much-needed avenue to extend your heart to a senior in need of affection.
Contact Friends & Family Coordinator Maryann Waddell to see where you can use your talents to show God’s love to our local senior population!
