Project Flo is doing its thing once again

Project Flo has come back to New Hampton for their fifth year in Chickasaw County helping restore and beautify homes for residents that are having trouble getting the work done themselves.Project Flo is a separately incorporated qualified charitable organization and therefore eligible to receive tax deductible contributions. The group was inspired by the life of Florence “Flo” Throndson and the mission of the organization is to improve communities by restoring homes and building hope.The late Florence “Flo” Throndson was known for her help in bettering the community. After her passing, her 15 children made it their mission to keep her memory alive through service projects.Project Flo is also excited about the fact they will be able to help more people in the future as they are now a registered 501C3 with the Internal Revenue Service.  The time and effort on the paperwork was also volunteered to be done by Nate Schwickerath.The projects include redoing one to two homes with her children coming home from around the country to help for a week each summer.This year the organization chose Pat and Don Johnson’s home in New Hampton and Deidre Westendorf’s home in Fredericksburg to help improve.The Johnson’s were referred to Project Flo because of the tough times they fell on.New Hampton resident Pat Johnson said in 2004 her husband Don had an aneurysm in his brain and he spend from July to September in the hospital in Rochester.“We took care of him here in the house for four years but then had to move him to the nursing home,” said Pat. “We always wanted to update the house someday but plans changed when this happened and it never got done.”Project Flo helped repaint the entire outside of the house, installed a chain link fence in the backyard enabling the couple’s dogs to have room to run and reinforced the back steps and install a handicap ramp.But the volunteers don’t do it all on their own. There is a long list of partners who support the organization behind the scenes. The partners include Gerard Glaser Construction, Tony Hoffman Construction, Holy Family Parish, Nate Schwickerath - Attorney, City of New Hampton, Schueth Ace Hardware, New Hampton Transfer and Storage, Sherwin Williams, Omega Cabinetry, Community Foundations Grants, Geerts Plumbing and Heating, K&W Motors, Nuveen Investments, Klunders Kafe, New Hampton Electric, PricewaterhouseCoopers Charitable Foundation, Thrivent Financial Chickasaw County Branch 31132, and Owens Corning. With the support of these generous businesses and major donors, Project Flo is able to adequately serve the housing renovation needs of at least two families per year.  “They have been a godsend and doing a great job,” said Pat. “Just goes to show there are angels among us.”Pat spent the week right alongside the Throndsons and volunteers that were working on her home.“The house is really shaping up and they are so organized,” said Pat. “They are a great bunch of volunteers and workers and I just can’t say enough about them.”For more information on past projects by Project Flo and ways to donate visit their webstie at www.projectflo.net.