FrogHouse volunteers helped Alfredo Tenorio make the dream of owning his first home a reality come true recently when he received the keys to his Habitat House and celebrated with the volunteers who helped build it.
FrogHouse, the TCU Habitat for Humanity project, builds homes for people like Tenorio who applied for a Habitat house for the safety of his two children Mary and Alfredo Jr. Tenorio said he looks forward to watching his children grow up in his new home at 2900 South Grove St. so they can be proud of it.
“The dedication was a celebration of the FrogHouse accomplishments,” said Sumer Jordan, TCU Transitions Program Coordinator and adviser to the FrogHouse project. “FrogHouse representatives provided Alfredo with the keys to his home.”
Lauren Howell, a TCU freshman nutrition major, said she felt honored and privileged to have the opportunity to directly help build a home for someone in need.
“I enjoyed that challenge of being up on a ladder and trying to nail on the roof,” Howell said.
The dedication was the conclusion of FrogHouse, the class of 2008’s project, and the start of a new family memory, said Eric Tabone, a TCU junior finance major and director of building and recruitment for FrogHouse. The preparation for the new FrogHouse, the class of 2009’s project, will soon begin to offer another family the same dream, Tabone said.
Brett Flodder, a TCU junior finance major and director of finance for FrogHouse said it has been an incredibly rewarding experience both professionally and personally.
“Not only have I been a part of helping a family's dream come true,” Flodder said, “but I have been able to gain valuable experience leading a team and working with others in the context of a larger organization."
Jordan says it is important for students to continue to improve the community and to serve the TCU mission statement. TCU has a responsibility to the Fort Worth community and that is why juniors give back through habitat, she said.
“FrogHouse promotes excellence and was chosen as the junior class project because of the corresponding third section of the TCU mission statement, which is responsible citizenship,” Jordan said.
Since FrogHouse began, students have had an opportunity to create a stronger impact on the TCU community as well as the Fort Worth community, Jordan said. The FrogHouse 2009 leaders will have a better opportunity to increase awareness and gather support, she said.
Alison Raff, a TCU senior movement science major and executive director for FrogHouse, considers FrogHouse to be a unique project that will expand into a larger project.
“I see them learning from the mistakes we made this year and getting even more money donated than we did,” Raff said. “I see them feeling as proud as we do about what they are doing.”
Jordan said increased awareness about FrogHouse projects encourages FrogHouse leaders to be optimistic that more students will help build FrogHouse 2009.
“Awareness is the biggest difference,” Jordan said. “This year has been fine tuned through using my.tcu.edu for sign ups, and the cohesiveness of the student leaders.”
A select group of student leaders from the junior class of 2008 raised about $53,000 for the project during the Fall 2006 semester. The students organized volunteers to participate and they began Feb. 16 to build the Habitat House, Jordan said.
Raff said the benefits of her experience with FrogHouse are limitless and continue to bless her daily.
“The satisfaction I get in knowing that I have helped provide a home for a deserving and loving family is especially beneficially,” Raff said. “We have given them one of the greatest things you can give to another.”
Tabone said one of the reasons he enjoys working with FrogHouse is that it seeks to build a community and to provide help to those who are in need in the surrounding areas.
“Having a project such as FrogHouse is beneficial to the TCU community because it makes everyone aware of our community,” Tabone said. “We are all so blessed to be at an amazing school and live in a safe area, yet not many people know that less than a mile away, people can't afford proper housing or may have to pull 60-70-hour weeks consistently just to put food on the table.”
For the father of a director for FrogHouse, the project became an opportunity to spend time with his daughter and to support FrogHouse.
Allen Gump, of Dallas and father of Allyson Gump, junior advertising and public relations and marketing major and author of the article, said:
“It ended up being something I got more out of than I put into.”
“It's rewarding to be a part of something so meaningful,” Gump said. “The tremendous staff and experienced volunteers were so patient and helpful to those of us that know so little.”
Not only does FrogHouse affect the lives of people who are helped, FrogHouse influences the volunteers and the students that participate with the project, Gump said.
For information on the project, contact Sumer Jordan, TCU Transitions Program Coordinator and adviser to the FrogHouse project, at (817) 257-7307.
By Allyson Gump