Developer, Realtor team up to help homeless
Operation Giving She Shed will collect donations through Dec. 31
SOUTH COVENTRY >> Two area companies are joining forces this month to collect donations to support Home for the Sparrow — an Exton nonprofit that partners with women facing homelessness to secure housing and achieve long-term stability.
Operation Giving She Shed kicks off Monday, Dec. 10, and runs through Monday, Dec. 31. Teaming up in the effort are custom home builder Rotelle Studio(e) and Styer Real Estate, with donations being collected at Rotelle Studio(e), 1011 Ridge Road, South Coventry.
The companies are collecting new items for Home of the Sparrow including: store gift cards; personal items, like soap, shampoo, diapers and pull-ups; household and cleaning items, like light bulbs, liquid dish soap, brooms, mops, paper towels, bagless vacuum; and kitchen items, like sets of new pots and pans, new utensils and new dish sets.
The idea for Operation Giving She Shed came from Meredith Jacks, broker and co-owner of Styer Real Estate in South Coventry. Jacks was chosen as the winner of the She Shed in a raffle held during the fall. The She Shed is one of two sheds built by Rotelle Studio(e) design teams this summer as part of a competition that pitted a male team and a female team against each other.
Jacks will be taking delivery of the shed in January and plans to use it at her home as a place where she and her friends can hang out and relax.
Before that happens — she wanted to do something that could benefit women and mothers. The idea of a “Giving Shed” isn’t new for her.
“Three years ago when we
bought our first house, we bought a shed. The house didn’t have a garage and needed the space,” Jacks said. “When it first got delivered — before we filled it with all our stuff — we decided to use it for donations. We called it the Giving Shed.” Jacks added that she and her friends collected items for a number of organizations.
“It was a good experience. When I won this shed, I thought right away about how I could make it benefit other people,” she added.
Reneé Pratt is chief designer at Rotelle Studio(e), and led the women’s team that designed the She Shed. Pratt said that when Jacks approached them with the idea for a donation collection, everyone at Rotelle Studio(e) was on-board right away.
“We thought it was a fabulous idea created with women in mind. What better way to use the shed than for this. It was a perfect idea,” Pratt said.
Jacks when she asked friends and family to recommend organizations for this new initiative — Home of the Sparrow kept coming up.
“We did research and their success story record is amazing. Their focus is to help women become self-sufficient,” she said, adding that with Styer being a real estate firm and Rotelle in housing development, the pairing just made sense.
According to a statement from Home of the Sparrow emailed to Digital First Media Friday afternoon, the organization works to help women and children who are in danger of losing their homes, and provides financial skills training, rental subsidies, eviction prevention funds, education and employment support.
“The women in our programs work incredibly hard to make ends meet, but the high cost of living in our community makes is so much more difficult for mothers on single incomes,” the statement read.
“We couldn’t be more delighted about ‘Operation Giving She Shed,’” said Michelle E. Venema, Home of the Sparrow chief executive officer. “This is a wonderful initiative to help women and children in our community who are in danger of losing their homes. The collected items will make a big difference in the lives of our program participants,”
Pratt said the shed has been decorated for the holidays, with lights and wreaths. There is a box in front of the shed, she added, where people can drop off donations during Rotelle business hours.
“They can leave items in the box outside, or they can come in to the studio. And if they would like, they can have a tour of the shed when they drop off items,” Pratt added.
For a full list of needed items, visit https://homeofthesparrow.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/05/ Needs-list-ready-for-print. pdf or go to the Home of the Sparrow website at www.homeofthesparrow.org.
For more information about Operation Giving She Shed call, 610-422-1000 (Rotelle Studio(e)) or 610-4699001 (Styer Real Estate).
The He vs. She Shed Shindig tasked two teams of Rotelle Studio(e) employees against each other this summer to design and build “the ultimate backyard getaway.” The sheds were revealed Sept. 15 during Studio(e)’s second annual Dream Big Custom Home Event. The public had a chance to vote for the Best Shed and automatically enter into an online raffle to win the She Shed. With all the votes tallied, the She Shed won Best Shed honors.