The Potter’s House in Lake Charles is a home to those who need it. Home Depot made home a little better for 11 women and two children on Tuesday.

Twenty Home Depot volunteers descended upon the Kirkman Street property with flowering plants, paint, bathroom vanities, a new door, lighting fixtures, elbow grease and the desire to make a difference. A few of the volunteers knew their way around some basic power tools.  

“This work we’re doing  is strictly volunteer,” said Alicia Guillory, assistant operations store manager. “These 20 men and women signed up to volunteer. They’re not on the clock. Supplies, about $2,800 worth, were donated by Home Depot. “We’re not doing any major plumbing or electrical work for Potter’s House today, but we will partner with licensed contractors to help nonprofits,” she said.

Guillory was told by her store captain about Home Depot’s commitment to giving back to communities throughout the U.S., and she started looking around for the right nonprofit to benefit.

The Potter’s House, founded in 1989, was the first women’s shelter in the area. Rev. Leona Benoit is the founder. In the ’80s, she returned to Lake Charles to minister to people on the streets, and then she established the Potter’s House.  It was a leap of faith to give up financial help provided by certain nonprofits, government and state agencies because accepting those dollars meant she couldn’t make the women and children living in the shelter go to church.