Fixing up one of our group homes this past week was a true community project because many people and groups were involved.

It all started at a Columbia BNI event where we met Robert Garretson from Simply the Best Painting Company. He embraced our mission and introduced us to his friend at Sherwin Williams who had all the paint donated from two Sherwin Williams locations in Howard County.

The week of the project, Hearts & Homes staff members from our central office went to the group home to repair small dents in the walls and do some prep for the next day’s work. Then, on Friday and Saturday, a group of Marines stationed at Fort Meade came and painted the home for us. The Marines, their families, and Hearts & Homes staff members provided a total of 230 hours of labor. To put that in perspective, if a business was doing the job, that would have cost $10,350 just in labor. Paint would have been around $1,000, depending on brand/quality. Including supplies, the total cost would have been right around $12,000.

We are also grateful to Chris at Squisito’s in Burtonsville for giving us a great discount on the fantastic pizza that our volunteers enjoyed for lunch!

We have a few more things to do at the group home and will have more people to thank. For now, we are glad to express our sincerest gratitude to Sherwin Williams and the Marines!