Thursday, April 29, 2010

Cummins Family Gets C.O.!

Yesterday, we received the Certificate of Occupancy for the Cummins house. They will move home at the end of this week!

The family again expressed their sincere gratitude to all of the volunteers and donors that have helped them in their journey home. And two of the Cummins children have expressed interest in volunteering with TEDRD to help our other homeowners and pay it forward.

Thanks again to everyone who helped. Below is a before and after. Check out Facebook for more photos.




Wednesday, April 28, 2010

St. Matt's Back Again


This week, we have St. Matthew's Austin here to help again. This particular group from St. Matt's, led by Jim Fryer is making their 4th trip!

And as a special treat, they will put the finishing touches on a house that they gutted on their 3rd trip down. They will be the bookends for the Cummins' home.

Its such a blessing for us to build relationships with wonderful people like the St. Matt's crew who continue to put in time for our homeowners.

Additionally, our friends Larry and Stuart continue to help us every week in Galveston. Those two have been a tremendous help for us.

The month of May looks to slow down a little bit as far as volunteers go, so we could use a little help if you are interested. Just contact Luke at volunteer@epicenter.org or by phone at 713.252.9693.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

More Families Moving Home


We've alread moved 3 families home this month, but it looks like we might have a couple more.

The Cummins family (Ave. M 1/2) will be moving home within the next week. Ms. Sharon (Sealy St.) and Ms. Brenda (Ave. T) will move home soon as well.

Mr. and Mrs. Cummins have both been in and out of the hospital since we started working on their home, and Mr. Cummins is looking to come home from the hospital at the end of this week. It will be a wonderful sight to see him return to a new home.

Ms. Sharon is a single mother and school teacher who is looking to get her family back home, and Ms. Brenda works at the San Luis Hotel and is living with a friend until our work is complete.

If we stay on track, we will move 6 families homes this month, which is an incredible feat that we could only have accomplished with the help of our wonderful volunteers. We are so grateful for all of the work you do!

Check back for more updates here, and on Facebook

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Mr. Rodgers Moves Home!

The inside of Mr. Rodgers' home is finished! We still need to do some work on the outside, but the inside is complete. Yesterday, Mr. Rodgers received his Certificate of Occupancy, officially allowing him to move home.

This weekend we plan on moving the rest of his furniture back in. Its so exciting when we have our homeowners move back home! And we're also grateful that we'll still see Mr. Rodgers around as he continues to make cabinets for other homes.

Below is a before and after of his home, to check out more photos, visit our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/ikerelief.



Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Emergency Preparedness Month is Coming!

Get ready! Here at Texas Episcopal Disaster Relief and Development, we have declared May 2010 Diocesan Emergency Preparedness Month!

As the Preparedness & Planning Coordinator, I (Carolyn) will be updating the blog and twitter with preparedness information for churches and families throughout the month.

We're also holding Parish Preparedness Workshops in three areas around the diocese. For locations and more information, visit www.epicenter.org/tedrd. And if you want more one-on-one help to prepare your church, I'll be available for that as well.


To schedule an appointment for your parish, suggest a preparedness topic, or even ask a question, email me at cjgibbs@epicenter.org. Let's get prepared together!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Finished Product

We went to install a refridgerator at Ms. Marsha's on Wednesday as one of the final touches to her home repair. It is amazing to see the progress of her home over the past 3 months.

Visit our facebook page and check out the photos. Theres still a couple minor details to touch up, but the house looks great, despite the debris from moving back in.

Before:


After:

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Gorgeous Weather


Its been beautiful weather in Galveston for the past few days as we continue to work on homes.

This week, we have a youth group from Monroe, Washington that is doing some great work. The Henrys are also still helping out along with Stuart and Larry (STC and LTC).

We still have some open dates in May. If you know of anyone who is interested, tell them to contact Luke Blount at volunteer@epicenter.org or by phone at 713.252.9693.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Happy Easter!

Its been a great week of work in Galveston as Grinnell students worked hard on several homes. It was great to work with them once again!

March was one of our busiest months we've ever had, and we're thankful for all of the volunteer support.

Our friends, the Henrys, arrived yesterday to start working. One of our favorite couples, Ruth and Len will be on site for a little over a week, helping out.

Also, we just got a new intern, Tyler, who started this week. That makes 4 interns currently working on our projects. We're glad to have an extra pair of hands!

Happy Easter everyone! We pray for safe travels and joyous times.

Texas Episcopal Disaster Relief and Development's Fan Box