Community leaders partnered with Humble Design to furnish homes for Grace Centers of Hope
OAKLAND COUNTY, Michigan – May 26, 2015 – This year more than 50 influential community and business leaders within Oakland County teamed up for a day of service. On Saturday, May 16, they transformed five houses into homes for 17 people in the city of Pontiac.
“It was such a wonderful day partnering with Leadership Oakland to furnish five homes for Grace Centers of Hope. We normally furnish three homes a week so organizing five in one day was quite a task! Everyone pulled together to get the job done and seeing the reactions on the families faces made it all worth while,” says Humble Design Director Julie Nagle.
Leadership Oakland’s Cornerstone 25th class (LOXXV) partnered with the nonprofit organization Humble Design to bring this project to fruition. Humble Design uses donated home furnishings to decorate the homes of families emerging from local homeless and abuse shelters. The transformations associated with this project brought the total number of families whose lives have been changed by Humble Design to 500. The class volunteers raised more than $10,000 for the project which helped to cover the cost of furnishings and moving vans.
The homes belong to Grace Centers of Hope, and are a part of an affordable housing community called Little Grace Village. What was once a blighted neighborhood in downtown Pontiac, destroyed by drugs and prostitution, is now a growing community that helps transition once homeless individuals back into society, allowing them to stay in a nurturing and accountable community.
The 50 volunteers had a mighty task. In addition to furnishing the homes, with home decor from Humble Design, they fully cleaned each home. The group also added some ‘curb appeal’ with flowers and shrubs courtesy of Bordine’s Nursery.
Following a day of hard work, a small celebration took place in Grace Park, which is on the same street as the homes. Food and drinks were provided for the families and volunteers alike. “This was a great way for the volunteers to interact with the families, who are turning the page on a new beginning,” says Humble Design Director Julie Nagle.
“In addition to our class of LOXXV volunteers, we were joined by our sponsors who made this day possible,” says Leadership Oakland’s Executive Director Denise Asker. Major sponsors include Mercedes Benz Financial Services, Butzel Long, Blue Care Network, Baker College, Michigan Schools & Government Credit Union, Munger & Associates, P.C., HAP, Lynn Sonkiss, Pointe Alarm, Michigan HR and Wade Trim.