Hey there!  Hope you all had a fine weekend!  I spent the weekend working on a few projects, like building an upholstered ottoman, and also taking a very cool class.  I hope to share both with you later this week. 

The best part of our weekend was spent working on our Alma Project, transforming the bare walls of the entryway to not only provide more storage, but also make this hallway a much more functional space to help the families living within these walls stay organized. 

Take a peek at what we started with in the morning:

And ended up with in the afternoon!

So much better!

I started by painting the hallway in Kelly Moore’s ‘Graystone’, a nice neutral tan color.  Usually I opt for Ben Moore paints, but KM was right down the street, and I was color matching the new paint in the great room (more on that to come!)  I chose these wide plank grooved panels from Lowe’s because the adjacent kitchen has the same style paneling on the lower half of the walls, but in that icky 1970’s brown.  I had all of the new panels cut in the lumber department.   I intend to prime and paint those brown panels in the kitchen and eating area to pull all three spaces together and make it more fresh and modern.     

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I’ve been meaning to share this with all of you for some time, and wasn’t quite sure how to say it.  This project is a little different, but it is one that means a lot to me. 

Whenever someone asks me where I see myself in five years, the first answer that I give is ‘fixing up spaces for those who really need it, not those who can afford it’.  I feel in my heart that I want to spend part of my time giving back some of what’s been given to me.   The mantra I have heard over and over in my head for months now is ‘there are real people with real needs who need real solutions.’  I talked it over with my hub, and we came to an agreement months ago that we were going to reach out into our own community and find somewhere to help. 

We called the Committee on the Shelterless (or COTS) to offer our services, and as with all non-profits, they welcome all the help they can get.  We gave them some information, and told them what we had to offer.  They ran a background check, and a week later, we adopted a house.  The Alma House. 

Historically, the act of almsgiving is a material donation to the needy.  ‘Alma’ in Spanish means ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’.  The name of the street where our adopted house is located is Alma Drive.  We deemed it a sign, and The Alma Project was born. 

What is The Alma Project? 

The Alma Project is the transformation of a fixer upper house into a comfortable functional home for women who desperately need it.  Living inside the Alma House are three single mothers, previously homeless, who reside for free on the condition that they are learning skills, stabilizing their lives, attending counseling, and remain drug and alcohol free.  These mothers are saving their money from their part time jobs and raising their children as best as they can.  They have no time or money to fix up this house.  They are real women with real needs who need real solutions. 

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