Office-space renovation takes a Special Stride

Home Depot volunteers turn old trailer into a welcoming space for nonprofit group

By: Stephanie Brown
   MONROE — For years, Laurie Landy and Susie Rehr have been helping meet the needs of children with autism, cerebral palsy and other motor and sensory conditions.
   Ms. Landy, an occupational therapist, and Ms. Rehr, a physical therapist, specialize in rehabilitation through horseback riding at Special Strides, a nonprofit therapeutic riding center based out of Congress Hill Farm.
   But last week, Ms. Landy and Ms. Rehr’s needs were met, too.
   Over two dozen employees from local Home Depots lent a helping hand Oct. 19 to turn a recently donated dilapidated doublewide mobile home located at the Federal Avenue farm into much-needed office/clinic space for the organization.
   As part of The Home Depot’s community outreach program, Team Depot, volunteers from stores in Howell, Freehold, Marlboro and Neptune, refurbished the trailer with donated materials and all new appliances.
   "I’m so blown away. My mouth feels like it’s down to here," said Ms. Landy reaching down to her knees.
   The 200-acre farm bustled with activity as workers in bright orange Home Depot T-shirts swarmed about the grounds.
   The high-pitched shriek of a circular saw pierced through the early morning air and the smell of coffee mingled with the sweet odor of damp hay.
   Inside the gutted trailer, the volunteers set to work painting the dingy walls a soft yellow hue.
   The volunteers used rollers and paint brushes — no airbrush guns or power-painting tools — to get the job done.
   "We do everything manually. We’re very hands on," said Toni Terry, Home Depot’s Marlboro human resource manager. "At the end of the day, you can look back and see the work that you’ve done and feel that you’ve really put your elbow grease into it."
   Painting with brushes and rollers is a messy job, but The Home Depot volunteers didn’t seem to mind.
   "That’s fine," laughed Freehold cashier Terri George, as she slapped some paint on the living room wall. "I work at Home Depot."
   After the walls have been painted, the team will install kitchen counter tops, new lighting, flooring, and brand new appliances, including a stove, washer and dryer.
   "We can generally do anything," said Freehold store manager Allison Tucci. "You can find somebody in every department at the store who knows how to do it or at least wants to try to do it. We pick the best of the best to come with us."
   Team Depot members said they looked forward to creating an upgraded space for the organization.
   "It’s a good cause," said Archana Barthwal, the Freehold store’s human resource manager. "We’re helping the children and it’s good to give back to the community."
   The cause hit home for John Bodi, Neptune store manager, whose son has autistic characteristics.
   "My son is not as severe as others — I’m fortunate in that way — but I definitely have a personal connection with the cause," he said.
   Founded in 1998 by Ms. Landy, the Special Strides aims to improve the lives of disabled children through a combination of horseback riding and physical therapy called hippotherapy.
   Ms. Landy and Ms. Rehr said the therapy is beneficial on both a physical and mental level.
   The horse, said Ms. Landy, is used as a tool similar to the weights or machines used at other physical therapy clinics.
   "The horse is our machine," she said. But it’s better than an actual machine, because "it has all these inherent qualities to it that we can’t replicate in any physical therapy or occupational therapy clinic."
   The horse’s motion works on three different planes, stimulating the nervous system, and building balance and strength, she explained.
   Plus "it has every sensation imaginable — smell, vision, touch," she said. "And so everything is happening at once and there is no therapy tool in the world, that I know of, that could do that."
   Not to mention, horseback riding is fun, added Ms. Rehr.
   "For some people it’s liberating. This is the only time that they’re able to move through space by themselves (without a wheelchair or walker)," Ms. Rehr said. "These kids, they’re coming and doing something that’s normal, you know? They don’t think about it all as therapy and that this is a struggle. It’s all about having fun while achieving therapeutic goals."
   The enthusiasm and vibrancy of Ms. Landy and Ms. Rehr in no way matches the decor of their old office, which was the second floor of a barn.
   The dark wood paneling and cramped quarters isn’t even the worst part about the previous office space — the almost 20 steps leading up to the office make it difficult for their handicapped patients to access.
   "Our clients fall in love with us, not our surroundings," said Ms. Rehr.
   When Sam and Eugene Landy, Congress Hill’s owners, donated the 1,800-square-foot, doublewide mobile home to Special Strides in June, the two women thought their wish for a better office space had been answered.
   Unfortunately, the farm manager who used to live in the trailer left it in disrepair, and fixing the space wasn’t in the nonprofit’s budget.
   Enter Susan Goldberg, the organization’s development coordinator.
   Ms. Goldberg was left with the task of finding the resources to turn the uninhabitable space into a therapy room, volunteer lounge, conference area and workstation.
   Through her hard work, she enlisted Team Depot.
   Team Depot brings together volunteerism, do-it-yourself expertise, product donations and monetary grants to meet community needs, according to its Web site.
   It has helped build more than 160 homes for Habitat for Humanity and renovated more than 20,000 homes for the elderly and disabled in more than 230 communities. It has also has built more than 400 playgrounds in underprivileged neighborhoods, serving thousands of children since 1996.
   Sylvia Nicholson, human resource manager for Home Depot, Howell, immediately answered Ms. Goldberg’s call for help.
   "I was so willing to coordinate the project because of the cause, because of the kids," Ms. Nicholson said.
   Kevin Malone, Freehold team manager, said that when given the opportunity by a corporate entity to give back to the community, it’s a no-brainer.
   "Every three months we get a budget to do it and why let that money sit there," he said, adding that Special Strides is a very worthwhile project. "We take for granted very often, you and I, that we’re healthy, but there are those out there who are immensely challenged and very often forgotten by general society."
   Special Strides can be reached at www.specialstrides.com, or by calling (732) 446-0945