Makeover in the Summer Heat

This week was a little different at Gracing Spaces. Most social workers had June 19th off because of the holiday, so we decided to take a break from our normal weekly duties. At the same time, our good friends at Fairfax Church were looking for a service opportunity for their youth group. In conversations with Brooke, Pastor of Community Outreach, we decided it would be great for the kids to participate in a makeover—start to finish!

On Tuesday a group of kids put together the kitchen and another group came to Public Storage. Mary showed one of them the ropes of the linens area, Bonnie and Roz helped two young men select pillows, lamps and pictures in the décor wing. A few others helped select and tag furniture. Craig arrived with Big Blue and all pitched in to load the truck. We were ready to go!

On Wednesday, Robert and Jackie—the youth leaders—met us at the makeover site with a van full of kids. What a great crew! They unloaded Big Blue in about twenty minutes. Then they got to work setting up the living room and hanging pictures, putting dishes and appliances away in the kitchen, and a determined group put together a complicated bunk bed!

We were most impressed by their thoughtfulness—as they were making decisions about where to place things, they were thinking about the family and their needs. It was fun for the kids who had helped with selection to see their picks in a new home. One young lady said, “I’m glad we took the dining table with leaves. It fits perfectly in the space.” The young men who selected pictures were so excited by how good they looked with the wall color! Here are a few pics of the fruit of their hard work:

After the kids left, Bill and I met the family coming in on our way out. Each of the three kids said “thank you” and placed their hands over their hearts. The infant smiled and waved. The mom said, “God bless you.” Last night, the family had clean beds and fresh linens to sleep on, a dining table to gather around, and a sofa to cuddle on as a family. It’s a long road and a lot of hard work by many people to get there. Thanks to the Fairfax Church youth who gave their time and talent to make this world a bit more like the kingdom of heaven this week!

If your group would like to partner with Gracing Spaces on a makeover, please reach out to marencarey@gracingspaces.com and we’ll see what we can work out!