Impact Austin Women Making a Difference: A Welcome Home at Saint Louise House

Impact Austin women bring leadership, collaboration, and the inherent will to improve whatever nonprofit or program they become involved with. Impact Austin’s blog team is making it a project to share some of the impactful work our members do in addition to – and perhaps because of - their Impact Austin membership and involvement. Often this work is with a Community Partner or an applicant for the Impact Austin grants that our members became aware of through their participation on a Grant Review Committee! This article tells the story of an opportunity to support a Girls Giving Grants Community Partner.

Saint Louise House is dedicated to the success of women and their children moving from homelessness to healthy independent lives. Their proven program provides stable housing and wraparound services with highly-individualized support that fosters education, financial literacy, strong family relationships and healthy living, leading to a lifetime of self-sufficiency.

Saint Louise House is also the 2025 Community Partner for Girls Giving Grants. The g3 award invested in support activities for the children living at Saint Louise House.

Girls Giving Grants awarded their 21st grant to Saint Louise House in April, 2025.

A two-fold volunteer opportunity came up for Impact Austin when another group of Saint Louise House volunteers had to step back. We could become a Welcome Home Team for Saint Louise House!

First, nearly three dozen Impact Austin members gave collectively and generously to purchase furnishings, decor, and housing essentials for an apartment that would welcome a mom and her children. On Sep 30, eleven members offered hands-on labor, making a new home for the incoming family. Our Welcome Home team assembled furniture; laundered bed and bath linens; washed dishes, cutlery, glasses, and pots/pans; made beds and hung towels; swept floors and cleaned windows; decorated with art, throws, and colorful pillows; and left gift bags for the children. The family's mother will be welcomed with touches of orange, her favorite color, and a self-care basket.

Thanks to all Impact Austin members who helped make a home with generous purchases and helping hands.

Setup volunteers were led by Karen Cox, who went above and beyond as a volunteer and organizer, starting early and staying late, and bringing warm, homey touches to the apartment. Hands-on help came from Barbara Ellis, Carol Meriwether, Gloria Hughes, Lisa Glenn, Judi McCarthy, Joyce Lauck, Nedra Bray, Ann Harwood, and Lea Ann Conway. Susannah Porr generously worked inside the apartment and made a run for extra supplies.

Household items were purchased by the volunteers above and also by Jerrica Deloney Witte, Tracey Nelson, Susie Kelly, Alyssa Dadoly, Ricki Wax, Kali' Rourke, Katherine Mudge, Beverly Reid, Margaret Ballinger, Karen McLinden, Tonya Netzley, Jen Hornish, Christina Shepherd, Joan Evans, Pam Kelly, Roberta Rincon, Emily Malaya, Caroline Wilkinson, Shari Kolding, Erin McCord, Susan Tormollen, and Anne Helmick-Lyon.

Special thanks also go to Margaret Ballinger for managing the supplies list, volunteer registration, and communications.

We recommend this volunteer opportunity to other civic groups and businesses. It was a fabulous team-building exercise with a good workout, some technical challenges, cheerful laughter, and full hearts. Best of all, we transformed a two-bedroom apartment into a home.