Two dozen volunteers from the Center of Joy Church, armed with shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows, showed up at The Source last Saturday, giving the property a much needed makeover with plants, flowers and tender care, and making the facility feel a little bit more like home. Board Chairman Chuck Sinclair deemed the day a generous ‘reverse act of charity,’ with one non-profit being helped by another in a Christian show of caring.
“The Source provides hot meals, a food pantry, clothing, counseling and many other services to the poor in Indian River County but all our funds go to provide client services and nothing was left over,” said Sinclair.
Board member Steve Lundin, who coordinated the project, felt that the beautification would be a mood makeover for The Source’s clients, as well as increasing the group’s visibility and standing in the neighborhood.
“Steve Lundin came up with the idea,” said Robin Benjouali, executive director of The Source. “He talked to Reverend Pitts and brought him here for a tour. They talked about what was needed and the two of them came up with this plan.”
Bright and early, as in 7 a.m., a group led by Rev. Greg Pitts of the Center of Joy Church in Gifford, along with Lundin and several enthusiastic helpers from The Source, unloaded a cache of plants, underwritten by the Community Church of Vero Beach.
“Landscaping is about taking something and making it beautiful, that is what The Source is doing as well,” said Rev. Pitts, who also owns Affordable Landscape Design. He not only advised about what was needed, he offered to bring in volunteers from his congregation to donate all the labor.
“I offered to do it because I thought it would be a nice thing for the people so they will see that someone cared,” he added. He commented that he also wanted his church members to be part of something in the community, learning that being a Christian was about helping others through service as well as financial donations.
The look and feel of the yard has now been transformed with bougainvillea, leafy ferns and low maintenance foliage where once there were strangling weeds and a touch of scrawny grass. Already a number of clients of the center have signed up to be on the green team, volunteering to keep the flowers watered and weeded.
“Robin is really transforming The Source. Every month there are more stories about clients taking the next step in their lives. She has been a big part of that mission,” said Lundin.
“I came here to change people’s lives one person at a time,” said Benjouali.
Clients such as Lucy and Kathryn are examples of the positive changes happening at The Source. Lucy is working in the kitchen certification program and Kathryn is taking college classes and hopes to have her own business one day. Both women are well spoken, intelligent and hardworking, and The Source is giving them the help they need to move forward. On Saturday, Lucy was busy inside preparing the food for everyone, while Kathryn worked non-stop outside, raking and planting alongside the other volunteers.
“People have a stereotype of what homelessness is,” said Lucy. “We are all here from certain circumstances. The Source is a big help. In a way, The Source is a home to us and we want our home looking good.”
