The little red house on the street

Little things in life give you big pleasure; at least this is how I felt this weekend when I had the opportunity to be a part of an amazing experience.

This weekend I went to Tampa to enjoy some quality time with friends and family.  I was asked to join them for a painting session. I was pretty excited to see what we were painting was it a vase, a picture, a glass, or furniture?  There are so many things that you can paint, right? But I never expected to hear that the thing we were painting was a house. Yes a house!

I couldn’t be more excited, especially when I heard the homeowner’s story. Our family friend is part of a realtor company in West Chase Tampa. This group teams up every year with Paint your Heart out Tampa, a volunteer program for citizens, businesses, social clubs, and volunteer organizations. Their main focus is helping lower income, elderly citizens in the community with giving them a touch of paint. Paint Your Heart Out Tampa is responsible for painting more than 2.500 houses around Tampa.

That Saturday we had a very early start and headed over to the house. When we arrived,  I had the pleasure to meet an amazing team. Family and friends of the realtor’s group also joined the team; I was speechless to see how many people showed up to change one families’ life.

  The owner of the house is Mrs. Martha, from Honduras. Martha, a colon cancer survivor, and her husband applied to Paint Your Heart  Out Tampa (Click on the link to follow them on Facebook) 3 years ago. The years had passed and she thought she would never have that opportunity to give her house the needed care. What a surprise she got when she found out that her house was chosen.

Red! Red was the color she chose for her house. (I mean RED) I asked her why she choose such a bright color and she said “ Si la vida me da la oportunidad de pintar mi casita, quiero un color que me de vida y me haga feliz” If life gives me the opportunity to get my house painted I would chose a bright color, a color that will make me happy”

She kept walking in and out of the door to see her house. Every time she glared with a big smile.  Her happiness was our source of energy. That’s all anyone really needed. I couldn’t feel more satisfied. This experience has given me one more reason to love and cherish everything I do, everything I have and how much is there for me to share.  

To anyone contemplating getting involved in charity work; look for volunteer jobs around your area. In the Orlando area http://makingthedifference.us/needs.asp