Senior Girl Scout Transforms Apartment
into a "Beautiful" Home
Nashville teenager, and Senior Girl Scout, Erika Butler took matters in her own hands by painting and decorating an entire apartment at Renewal House. Erika chose to work on her Girl Scout Gold Award Project at Renewal House because she is interested in helping to address the suffering of women and children. In particular Erika is "interested in becoming part of the solution." And she definitely became part of the solution at Renewal House.
Erika's goal was to "fully equip an apartment for a mother and her children to help the family with their continuing development and efforts for a fresh start." She began her project in the month of December and worked tirelessly throughout her entire winter break. Erika and her volunteer committee scraped and patched walls, cleaned carpets, painted the entire two-bedroom apartment and decorated the bathroom. They even furnished the apartment specifically with the new residents in mind -a young mother and her children transitioning from the Renewal House Residential Program.
Erika recorded 72 hours of hard work preparing the apartment. Supporting Erika in her efforts were her mother, Luvenia Harrison Butler, and her father, Eric S. Butler. Additionally, the Teen Group of the Nashville Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, of which Erika is also a member, very generously provided their support and donations to help stock the apartment with needed items.
Erika, along with her Girl Scout Troop Leader, Paulette Allen, officially returned the key to the newly renovated apartment to Renewal House on January 13, 2011. It was quite an emotional moment for all in attendance.
The excitement continued when the new residents saw their apartment for the first time. "It's BEAUTIFUL! It's BEAUTIFUL!" exclaimed the young mother over and over after seeing the Renewal House rental apartment that she will soon move into with her two children. "The furniture and decorations are just perfect for me and my kids!" continued the mom, "How did you know our favorite colors and the favorite characters of my kids? This is just the best gift ever!" Little did she know that Erika covertly found out all the likes of the family so she could personalize this home.
The mother will graduate from the Renewal House Residential Program week. She and her children will then move into an apartment that was truly made into a home.
