Exciting news from Operation Home!

The non-profit's new partner brightens 2010 outlook for local underprivileged residents

(Photo: Bob Fleming of Classic Remodeling, Kris Basala and Anna Hamilton of Operation Home, and Charleston County Councilman Paul Thurmond at the February 25 Operation Home reception)

Exciting news! The Spring/Summer 2010 issue was just sent to the printer, due out in a couple of weeks. It’s a blockbuster too, you won’t want to miss it. Lots of stories to get you inspired for your spring projects.

Speaking of making improvements around the house, I went to an Operation Home reception last week that was a good reminder of the importance of those four walls that surround us. If you’re not familiar, Operation Home is a grassroots, non-profit group that makes emergency home repairs for disadvantaged residents of Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties. They add wheelchair ramps for handicapped residents unable to get in and out of their homes, upgrade out-of-service bathrooms, furnish heaters to those who have little or no means of heating their homes—essentially, their mission is to help residents remain in their houses. The group is only 10 years old, but what’s always struck me is how big the need is that they’re filling here. They can rattle off case after case after case of families living in nearly uninhabitable structures, living each day without the means to make repairs that many of us would consider the most basic (failing roofs, holes in the floor, etc.).  

Back to the event: local contractor Bob Fleming of Classic Remodeling (a local design-build firm) announced an all-new partnership with Operation Home, pledging (among other things) to adopt one case per quarter. The firm will donate the labor to make necessary repairs, starting with a Johns Island residence in need of a new shower (the current one is not usable), bathroom floor, and other structural repairs.

Work commences soon, and on this blog, we’ll follow Classic’s work on this project to give an up-close look at how big an impact Operation Home and its supporters make on the lives of our neighbors. I'm in awe of their work, and and look forward to sharing more of it with you. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, go to operationhome.org to learn more, and to find out how you can help.