Rosenberg Richmond Helping Hands, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed by area churches over twenty years ago that helps people in crisis by providing basic needs on a short term basis. Their goal is to provide assistance until an individual or family can become self sufficient. Until recently their ‘home-base’ had been, well, in a home.
Their location on Morton Street had limited space, but the location was sufficient to serve people in need. However, clients often had to walk between two buildings to get their food and clothes. Helping Hands Director, Nancy Brown expressed, “We were thankful for (the first location), but the organization needed more space and an updated facility to meet the demands of its clients.”
So, about a year ago they decided to start planning relocation to a bigger facility. In order to make the move possible they needed to raise a good deal of money. Thankfully the City of Richmond and Richmond’s Development Corporation came to their aid, each providing $55,000 and $100,000 respectively. The City of Rosenberg and their Development Corporation contributed another $12,500 and $50,000 respectively, and they were well under way. Soon they attracted the attention of the George Foundation which guaranteed a $45,000 matching grant, and Helping Hands did the rest of the work to get donations to meet this goal, raising the remaining $90,000 needed.
“It’s been a long, tough, tedious and tiresome journey,” Brown said. “But every single step was worth it.” The new Helping Hands center sits at 902 Collins Road in Richmond, TX. It is one large facility which opened in August, and on October 14 held an open house with guided tours, an event that brought Brown to tears.
The new facility was able to serve a record number of clients on Wednesday as they helped 48 families. Normally they serve anywhere from 30 to 35 clients, but they can now more efficiently serve more clients all under one roof. The move is one for which Richmond residents can rejoice and know they are helping to serve their community.
“Isn’t this fabulous?” she said, “We worked hard for this… And here we are. We made it. We made it here on angel’s wings.”
For information on how you can take part in the work of Helping Hands please visit www.roserichhelpinghands.org or call 281-232-4904. You can even make a donation online via PayPal by following the link on their page.
And if you’re looking for a way to help in the coming Spring mark your calendars with the Hearts and Hands Gala. This event will take place on Saturday March 6th, 2010, from 6:00 - 11:00 p.m. at Safari Texas, 11627 FM 1464, Richmond, TX 77406-1268.
Source: www.fbherald.com
