Community is defined as, a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing a common attitude, interests, and goals. House to Home was a way to create a new community. I have a personal tie with The Home Depot, my father is known as the man in charge. As the manager he was head of this project. I watched him come home countless nights, exhausted. As a high school student, I wondered how I could help. That’s when I decided to get my hands dirty. Over the course of several weekends I had volunteered my time to help. I did it all from cleaning spider webs, scraping paint, and also laying hardwood flooring. As well as getting my cheerleading team involved with volunteering. Watching these girls do dirty work was quite entertaining. All this work was not at all glamorous, but the volunteers made it more than a glamorous outcome. I can honestly say I loved volunteering my time for this project. Not only did I walk away with a few more skills than I had, such as installing hardwood flooring, I gained the satisfaction of helping a veteran and his family live in a home that they deserve. Not only was this a learning experience for me, but for my team. I found out after we teamed up with House to Home we worked better together. Working in a different atmosphere and  on something most of us had no previous knowledge of, was a game changer. I had quite a bit of knowledge on the home improvement side, which led me to be the team leader. So along with this, I played a huge leadership role for my team.*

Jenna Forrester

*More on this different point of view, coming soon!

Rockford Lutheran cheer leading team, with Homer.

Rockford Lutheran Cheerleaders working with House to Home.