Construction has been completed on an 8100 sq. ft. cottage that was built to house eight boys and their teaching parents for Boys and Girls Country in Hockely, Texas. Donations of materials, labor and services were key components to ensure the cottage was built at a cost savings.
Empire Communities enlisted donations from dozens of their generous vendors, suppliers and trades throughout pre-construction through the final walk-through. The cottage will give these eight deserving boys their own bedrooms for the first time in their lives. This is HomeAid’s third cottage they have facilitated for the campus located in Hockley, Texas.
The cottage, named the Woodforest Cottage is designed to instill security, warmth and a nurturing environment for as long as the children need a safe haven, many times through high school.
The vendors who have signed on to contribute materials and services include: Builders Post Tension, Vortex Construction, Sherwin Williams Paint, GE Appliances, JP Hart Lumber, Home Pro, Arrow Glass Industries, Wisenbaker Builder Services, 1st Texas Fire Protection, Builders First Source, Kent Moore Cabinets, Certainteed Roofing, TruTeam, James Hardie Building Products, D&E Plumbing, House of Power, Lone Star Air Systems, DPIS Engineering, Countrywide Roofing and Progress Lighting.
Funding was provided to Boys and Girls Country from the Woodforest Charitable Foundation. Rafael Casas with Empire Communities was construction manager for the project.
“Empire Communities is honored to take part in the ongoing expansion of the Boys and Girls Country campus,” said James Miller with Empire Communities and a HomeAid board member. “We are grateful for the tremendous contributions by these generous companies who share in the vision to provide a safe place for these youth to grow and prosper.”
The agency marked the completion of the frame stage with a gathering of the children, volunteers and Boys and Girls Country staff earlier this year with a “notes and scriptures of love and hope” event where they wrote inspiring words on the actual lumber that is the structure for the cottage walls.
Boys and Girls Country is a Christian home for children who come from families in crisis. The agency serves as a beacon of hope for families and their children in times of hardship, offering them a reliable home life. The Boys and Girls Country program is a non-profit that was established in 1971. The program is made up of a network of 11 cottages. The children live with a married “Teaching Parent” and any children they may have, as well as two single Teaching Parents who raise these children as their own. The campus can accommodate 88 children ages 5 to 18.
In addition to the eight bedrooms, the Woodforest Cottage includes a full modern kitchen, a separate area for the teaching parents, a study room and a large family room. The cottage sits among the large oak trees on the Boys and Girls campus.