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Community Corner

An Extreme Home Makeover, Kirkwood Style

A group of Kirkwood residents work together to help a family of 16.

A group of Kirkwood residents is orchestrating a pre-holiday home makeover for a family of 16 that is struggling to make ends meet.

The family lives in south St. Louis, but eight of their 14 children attend Kirkwood schools – which is where Tricia Gaines met them. Gaines is a former teacher and taught several of the family’s kids over the past 20 years.

Gaines is teaming up with Robby Frances, the youth director at , and Gina Marten, a youth group parent volunteer, to organize much-needed repairs and updates at the family’s rental home.

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The father works full-time to support the 10 children still living at home, while the mother is working to earn a college degree online. In addition, the family shares their living space with a relative who is a disabled veteran.

Gaines said household repairs had taken a backseat to keeping the family fed and in good health.

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“We just want to give them a fresh start,” she said.

But what started as a service project for the youth group has mushroomed into a community-wide effort.

“We were excited to plan a one day ‘mini home makeover,’ Gaines said, “but after doing a home visit … (we) realized their needs are much deeper than cleaning and painting.”

So on Saturday, some 50 volunteers will arrive in shifts to clean, caulk, paint, repair faucets, replace flooring, install an oven, fix the roof, patch the ceiling, deliver and construct donated bunk beds and dressers -- and provide needed household basics from bedding and towels to dishes and bakeware.

“They are just an awesome family,” Gaines said. “They are so appreciative. The mom said, ‘this is like what you see on TV – are you sure this is happening?”’

Gaines, who now owns a business called Clean Slate Companion, which helps clients organize their households, is brimming with ideas to help such a large family get organized – from cubbies and hooks in the hallway where each member of the family can store their bath towel and toiletries, to ways to organize each child’s clothing and school supplies.

She said the family’s landlord arranged to have a Dumpster delivered to the house and is paying for new laminate flooring. The father and older sons were working on pulling up damaged carpeting.

Gaines and Marten have organized parent and teen volunteers from St. Peters but they also sent out emails to friends and family in the community. Gaines said the response had been “overwhelming.”

“It’s an extreme home makeover to the max,” she said.

Volunteers have donated bunk beds, mattresses and bedding, dressers and bookshelves, cleaning and kitchen supplies, as well as gift cards for the many little items needed to give the family a fresh start. Ace Hardware in Des Peres donated much of the paint that was needed.

Gaines said organizers were still hoping to arrange for a couple of hotel rooms Saturday night for the mother and children, so that volunteers could put on the finishing touches early Sunday before the “big reveal.” They are also looking for bookshelves, end tables, floor and table lamps, cleaning supplies and a vacuum.

Marten said that although adults will do much of the work, she was excited for the youth group’s involvement in the project.

“Out of all the service projects we could have chosen, this really offers them something where they can see the impact they are going to have,” she said.

Anyone interested in volunteering or donating to the project can contact Tricia Gaines at momgaines3@yahoo.com or Gina Marten at ginamarten20@me.com.

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