Tampa Nonprofit Group Builds History Of Aid For Poor Homeowners

Keith Morelli

Jun. 19, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- TAMPA -- More than 50 volunteers converged on the home of Norma Hicks, a teacher and single mom in Clair-Mel City, intent on sprucing up her domicile by slapping on a coat of paint, making repairs and adding a splash of landscaping.

The 48-year-old teacher's assistant at the 34th Street Church of God beamed today as orange-shirted crews rolled paint on the outside of her home on Briarhaven Court. They showed up at 8 a.m. sharp and by noon had put a coat of primer and a coat of tan paint on the previously white block home.

Landscaping with red cedar mulch accented the work. New shrubs were in the ground, and the front yard was being raked.

The project is being offered through the Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay, a nonprofit group that fixes up homes of low-income residents.

"This is overwhelming," Hicks said. "It's a miracle. I never would have gotten all this done. I feel like I'm on 'Home Improvement' on TV."

She said she has been a teacher's assistant for 10 years and has lived in the home for the past six years with her two sons, Manuel, 13, and Michael, 12. The boys weren't home today and didn't know the work was being done, Hicks said.

Inside, crews were installing a new kitchen, she said, complete with a garbage disposal and dishwasher.

"I've never had a dishwasher," she said. 'My hands have been the dishwashers all these years."

About 50 volunteers from Bay area Home Depot (NYSE:HD) stores and contractors showed up at Hicks' home today, said Mike King, the project manager with Home Depot. There were people from seven Home Depots in the area, and all of them are donating their time.

The monetary value of the work at Hicks' home: about $4,000 in materials and nearly $2,000 in labor.

Plans call for energy saving windows and new insulation, said Olga Gonzalez, overseeing the project for Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay.

Workers are going to finish the job today, she said.

"We will leave when the project is done," she said. "If it's 5 or 7 p.m., we will leave when the project is done."

Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay was formed in 2000 by the Tampa Bay Builders Association and the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors. The idea was to repair and renovate rundown houses of low-income homeowners, particularly older people and those with disabilities.

The idea, according to Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay's Web site, "is to preserve affordable homeownership and reduce substandard housing" by enlisting the help of corporations and government.

Corporate sponsors are a big part of funding the effort. In 2007, Sears donated enough materials to fix up seven homes, according to published reports.

The Web site states that in 2006, six projects were planned and completed. In 2007, the organization planned 12 projects but did 17, the Web site states.

This year, 40 projects are planned. Twenty have been completed.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0201-26108208