Veteran Foster Mom Gets a Home Makeover by HKI Volunteers

June 20, 2009, Tampa, FL

If you look at the lawn of Diane Young's red brick rancher in Tampa, you'll get a hint of what her life is about. An angel of stone looks over the yard. Behind the angel are other, smaller statues. There's a child with a dog, another two on a bicycle. Children, this scene tells you, are cared for here. They are Diane Young's sole dedication.

Diane, 65, has three children of her own, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She has two adopted girls living with her and four other foster girls in the house. She figures that over the last ten years, she has cared for 200 children. She has taken them all, boys and girls, grateful or frightened, toddlers and teenagers, who call her Momma or Grandma. Thanking her was long overdue.

About two dozen volunteers from HKI and other agencies who work with foster children gathered last Saturday, June 20, to thank Diane Young -- not with ribbons and cake, but with paint and elbow grease. They began cleaning up and repainting her four bedroom house. No task was too small: there was even a run to the store for switch plates. They used 24 gallons of paint for walls and ceilings and worked through the steamy afternoon. They cleaned and polished the dining room chandelier to a sparkle. They swept out the corners.

Alyssa Barry, HKI's foster parent recruitment supervisor, came, she said, because "It's important to say good things happen in foster care in Hillsborough County. We want to promote foster care, and this is the best way to do it."

Olga Stirrup Williams, the executive director of the Family Enrichment Center, and a volunteer who didn't shy away from a paint roller said the day's work could send a message to other potential volunteers who are interested in helping children and families, but can only do so much. "We're letting the community know there is something to do for these families. Not everyone can be a foster parent."

Karina Romero, a Devereux care manager, got right to the point. "Why not work hard for somebody that's working hard for us?"

Diane, her husband Fred and their kids spent Saturday at Busch Gardens, while the volunteers painted away. She was almost afraid to come home.

"Oh, my God, I even cried to one of the counselors. My husband can't believe it. He said nobody had ever done anything for him."

There's still work to do. Over the next couple of weeks, volunteers and handymen will put up blinds, screens, ceiling fans and lay new flooring in three rooms, among other things.

"They're doing it all," Diane Young said. "I just can't ask for anymore. I feel embarrassed."

"I tell people, this is what people do who really care. This is wonderful. They're not just helping the kids, they're helping the people who help the kids. Everybody is so caring. The whole time I have been in foster care, everyone I have worked with has been a sweetheart."

"We're here to give them security, love and a good foundation. You take care of the paperwork, and I'll take care of the nourishing and growing up. I don't care how many kids I get. I have room for all of them in my heart."