Garden of Hope, a local nonprofit organization, is asking for the community to help them raise enough funding to finish renovations for a foster care facility.
The organization is currently renovating an old church building to become a transitional housing facility for children in the foster system.
"The vision is just to have a place for kids that's entering the foster care system so they have a safe, nurturing environment to go to while we try to get them into a foster home," Morris Smith, President of the board of directors for Garden of Hope, said.
The facility will house 20 children, ages five to seventeen, for up to 90 days.Their goal is to keep siblings together. Every child will receive a $300 gift card when they arrive that would allow them to buy new clothes and any other items they may need.
The nearly 3-acre property is an old church, but there are several renovations that still need to be done, including adding new walls for bedrooms.
"We need to get the place renovated, do some area beautification and make sure everything is up to code for being in this type of system," Smith said.
The organization is now asking the community to help them fund the rest of the renovations.
"It's all about the funding," Serina Joyce Jones, Vice President and Events Coordinator for Garden of Hope, said.
Jones said they still have renovations to complete the five bedrooms and three bathroom building. The organization eventually wants to expand and add more buildings to house more children later on, but they have to complete this renovation first before they can start planning that.
"We need more funding so we can have more things for the kids: games, books, so they are actually home when they are here and it doesn't feel like a dormitory or something," Smith said.
Garden of Hope is looking for volunteers and donations.
The organization has a fundraiser at the Chipotle at the PX on Fort Hood on January 20th. Click hereto find out how you can donate. Click hereto learn more about the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
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