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Through my association with Save the Family Foundation of Arizona as a board member and board president for many years, I was able to connect Mesa West Rotary to them for several projects. Over the years, members would help to rehab vacant units for SFFA and we also assisted them in starting their Thrift Store. We secured racks and fixtures from a closing department store and provided the labor in retrofitting the interior of the building to function as a retail store. One of our members even provided concrete and manpower to pour an additional slab for them to expand with a storage facility.
Our main project was the rehabbing of one of their family homes. They had one 3-bedroom house in Tempe that HUD had loaned to them for a period of one year. After that year, they would need to either purchase the house or vacate it. Since they didn't have enough funds for the purchase, I approached my employer, Wells Fargo Bank, with the purchase option. After going through proper channels, it was approved, and SFFA had their 3-bedroom house. Next, Mesa West Rotary took on the job of rehabbing the house. Through community donors, we were able to secure a new block wall fence, AC unit, reshingle the roof, new kitchen cabinets, new flooring, and even a swing set for the backyard. Members stepped up to provide manpower to remove old flooring, put in new desert landscaping, interior painting, etc.
The project was completed in 1997 and received Wells Fargo's annual Volunteer Service Award for that year.