By Liz McGathey, Staff writer
Every house needs furniture.
CITY House’s new shelter, My Friend’s House, needs enough furniture to accommodate up to 24 children from newborn to nine years old.
On Friday, CITY House invites the corporate and civic community to join them at Plano Centre for the Making Space Event where five vignettes provided by IKEA will showcase furniture and design planned for My Friend’s House. Attendees will have the opportunity to sponsor a vignette to furnish the new facility, due for completion in September.
A complimentary buffet will begin at 6:30 p.m. and at 7:15, the interior design plan will be unveiled. The event will feature emcee Newy Scruggs, NBC5 anchor, and special entertainment.
My Friend’s House will provide emergency, short-term shelter for children, newborn to nine years old, removed from their home due to abuse, abandonment or neglect. During their stay, these vulnerable children will be provided safe shelter, food, clothing, medical care, transportation, school supplies, and education in the public schools. In addition to these basic needs, the children will receive quality, 24-hour care by highly trained staff, case management services, therapeutic counseling, various outings and recreational activities in the community. My Friend’s House is being constructed at 6525 Independence Parkway in Plano.
Kathy Blank, spokesperson for of CITY House, said the organization is waiting to start construction in order to work out interior details and secure as many donations as possible. “We’re really excited but we want to be patient,” she said.
She said IKEA will be providing a generous dollar amount toward furniture which will get things moving. The design teams from the European home furnishings store and CITY House are working closely with each other to determine the best design for My Friend’s House.
Plano-area rotary clubs adopted the initiative as their centennial project, and through a substantial pledge donation from rotary members, CITY House was able to purchase the property on Independence for My Friend’s House’s future location.
Jo Via was president of the Plano Rotary Club when the centennial project, a fundraiser that all four Plano rotary clubs participated in, was organized and said CITY House was paid in installments over a two year period.
In addition, Home Aid Dallas, the charitable arm of the Dallas Home Builders Association, helped put CITY House in contact with its Builder Captain, Sotherby Homes.
“We helped find a builder who was interested in the project and would build at a discounted price, usually 50 percent less,†said Sherry Turner, executive director of Home Aid.
Businesses are not the only ones getting in on this $1.6 million project; fifth-grade STOP students (Students Thinking of Other People) at Carlisle Elementary, the feeder school for children staying at My Friend’s House, have raise more than $1,700 for the shelter through a series of fundraisers including a Valentine’s Day candy sale and a recent bake sale. In May, Principal Saul Laredo led the STOP group in presenting their $1,738.28 check to Charles Wolford II, Executive Director of CITY House.
According to CITY House, once these elementary students heard about My Friend’s House, they knew they wanted to support the future infants and children who will live there.
Those interested in attending the Making Space Event need to RSVP by contacting Patricia Powers at 972-424-4626 or ppowers_cityhouse@yahoo.com. For information, visit www.cityhouse.org
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