Two more Owensboro families received a fresh start Wednesday as the Alma Randolph Charitable Foundation revealed new home furnishings for recipients Sharmeca Walton and Danielle Aull through the organization’s HUTS (Hands Up to Succeed) project.
The initiative, launched in 2016, aims to provide disadvantaged families with a hand up by offering fully furnished homes and essential household goods to those striving for a better life. Wednesday marked the 90th and 91st homes completed through the project.
Walton, a working mother raising her three children along with two nephews in her custody, said the experience was emotional.
“My heart dropped,” Walton said. “I almost wanted to cry, and I tried to compose myself. The kids were excited. I was just excited.”
Walton was selected for the program after applying for a Habitat home to accommodate her growing household. She said she was grateful for the new space, the support from the foundation, and the stability it would offer her children.
“I was expecting to purchase all new furniture, so for (the Foundation) to come in and get me all new furniture, and not just that, but a washer and dryer; that was one of the big things,” Walton said. “It’s definitely going to help me. I appreciate everything that’s been done.”
She had a message for others who might be struggling.
“Don’t give up,” she said. “Things get hard. Get on a routine. Pray. Things fall in your lap that you wouldn’t expect. I didn’t expect any of this.”
Just across town, Aull and her five children walked into their new home, freshly decorated and filled with furniture, bedding, and home essentials. Aull is a survivor of domestic violence and said the moment was overwhelming.
“It was breathtaking,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting everything. It was a good surprise.”
Aull previously lived in a domestic abuse shelter, and she said this new home represented a new beginning.
“It means we’re moving on to better things,” she said. “It’s what we always needed.”
She also expressed her thanks to the Alma Randolph Foundation.
“Thank you so much,” Aull said. “It’s worth the wait.”
The foundation partnered with Habitat for Humanity to complete the homes. The project is only available to families who are employed or medically disabled, have dependent children, and are actively working toward self-sufficiency.
Randolph said the homes were made possible thanks to a network of volunteers and supporters, including Bell Bank, Limos by Night, Moonlite Bar-B-Q, and the Holiday Inn Riverfront. One of the homes was sponsored in memory of local attorney John Bickel by an anonymous donor couple who were friends of his.
“This is not work for me,” Randolph said. “It’s a ministry. I just feel like I’m being God’s hands and feet in this world to touch the less fortunate. That’s my purpose in life: to do this until He calls me home or I get too old to do it.”
Randolph founded the organization in 1993 to provide back-to-school clothing for children. Since expanding its mission in 2016, the HUTS program has now helped 91 families.
“I never had my own room, I never had my own bed,” Randolph said. “So I guess in a way, I’m reliving my life every time one of these families returns home and is spared a lot of the experiences I grew up with. To God be the glory.”
