Building Hope Together: Stefanie Fair on Uniting a Community to Create Transformative Change

Crestview, FL – Sometimes, the biggest transformations begin with a simple question: How can we help? 
 
When members of the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors (ECAR) Leadership Development Program were challenged to create a community service project, they wanted to make a lasting difference. Their search led them to Lutheran Services Florida’s Hope House, an emergency youth shelter in Crestview that provides safety, counseling, and support for children ages 10 to 17 experiencing abuse, neglect, homelessness, family conflict, or other crises. 
 

“I never would have imagined it’d be something that I would be so passionate about,” Fair said. “I’m truly grateful to still be a part of it.” 

What began as plans to paint walls and purchase new bedding soon grew into a community-wide effort unlike anything the group had imagined. 
 
The members of the ECAR Leadership Development Program divided responsibilities, each  
 
“We’re all Realtors, so I had a lot of vendors I could ask,” Fair explained. 
 
One of those conversations proved to be a turning point. 
 
While watching their daughters play soccer, Fair approached Augy Gavenda and told him about Hope House’s deteriorating roof. 
 
That conversation ultimately led Augy and his brother Ignacio Gavenda’s company, Timberman Roofing, to coordinate a complete roof replacement valued at approximately $22,000, with suppliers donating materials and the leadership class helping raise the remaining funds needed to complete the project. 
 
But the roof was only the beginning. 
 
Working together, the leadership class and dozens of community partners painted gathering spaces and bedrooms, repaired drywall, upgraded the laundry room with new electrical service, installed new washers and dryers, added cabinetry, replaced carpet, furnished bedrooms with new linens, collected books and games, donated laptops for the youth, and refreshed nearly every part of the shelter. 
 
“It just turned into a huge thing,” Fair said. “There were ten of us, and everybody took on something different.” 
 
What surprised her most wasn’t the amount of work; it was how eager people were to help. 

“It was so cool to see the community come together,” she said. “That was the best part. I thought it would be difficult, but after people kept hearing about the project, they said, ‘Yes, we want to help. What can we do?'” 

Stefanie Fair (center) and her fellow Leadership Development Program members completed renovations throughout Hope House as part of their service project.

Businesses donated materials. Contractors volunteered their expertise. Community organizations contributed supplies. Even people Fair had never met responded with overwhelming generosity. 
 
“I was sending emails asking, ‘Can you spare a box of nails?'” she recalled. “They would come back ten times bigger and say, ‘I can do better than that.'” 
 
For Fair, the renovations were never just about improving a building. 
 
“My daughter just turned 12,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine how scary it would be for her to go somewhere that didn’t feel welcoming or healing.” 
 
She hoped every improvement, no matter how small, helped children feel that someone cared. 
 
“If we made that better even just by one percent,” she said, “it was all worth it.” 
 
Although the ECAR Leadership Development Program has ended, Fair’s commitment to Hope House has not. 
 
Several members of the class continue meeting monthly through an advocacy group that promotes the shelter, organizes community events, and encourages others to get involved. 
 
“I just love that it’s continuing,” Fair said. “That’s more what the project was for; not just how quickly could we get it painted, but what can we really do to keep this going and make it somewhere safe, where people want to visit, and people want to talk about it in positive ways.” 
 
What began as a leadership project has become something much greater: an ongoing partnership between Hope House and a community that now knows its story. 
 
For Fair, the real success is not the fresh paint, the new roof, or the renovated laundry room, but the fact that children arriving at Hope House now know an entire community came together to make them feel at home. 

If you would like to contribute to the ongoing improvements at LSF’s Hope House, please consider donating here.