Helping Hands Homes FL

12/24/2024

I recently unpacked some things I brought back from Florida and found my dad’s most treasured possessions that I had mistakenly feared may have been lost - his Love Tree ornaments. This is a tradition he started in 1991, refusing to accept Christmas gifts, instead requesting we do a good deed instead and hand make an ornament representing what we did to help someone in need. For 33 years, our family has proudly honored his wishes. My dad opening his ornaments and reading about the good deeds he inspired often brought tears to all our eyes.

When the kids were little, it started with picking up litter in the park, canned food drives, adopt a class, turkey tryouts and autism walks. The kids were always excited to make their treasured ornaments to share with their Grandpa, who was always so proud of each of them.

As we’ve/they’ve grown, we’ve helped friends in need, victims of natural disasters, animal rescues, veterans, abuse children, foster kids, fed the homeless, donated to important causes like Alzheimer’s, breast, lung and brain cancer causes, and ways big and small, whatever touched our hearts. Whenever we share this story, it always seems to find someone at the right time, when they needed a boost. Helping others is like magic, and it helps you too! If you are feeling down, lonely, broke, hair obligatory gifts or just have the holiday blues, this is a great way to remedy that!

The second pic is many, but not all, of the ornaments he collected thru the years from myself and my sisters, our children, our grandchildren, adopted family, friends, coworkers, even strangers who heard about the tradition and adopted it as their own. For scale, this is my king sized bed covered in hundreds of these special ornaments. The garland at the top was my dad’s favorite because it represented good deeds we did together as a family related to 9/11 and each link in that chain represented someone or a group we helped. As a true patriot who loved this country, that was extremely special to him.

It was never about the ornaments or bragging rights (as we did many things anonymously and did many deeds that never got an ornament made), but the love, kindness and compassion they represent. In a world that can often feel cold and cruel to many, especially this time of year, it’s a good reminder there’s still a lot of love in the world, that kindness and compassion are free, that the things that matter in life can’t be bought, and that one person can truly make a difference.

This was my dad’s greatest legacy, and one that will live on.

If this inspires you to do something for someone and/or to make an ornament representing something good you’ve done year (sometimes we can all use the reminder!) and/or to adopt this tradition in your home/office/life, I would love to hear about it/see it!

My dad’s love just keeps on giving and growing.

11/11/2021

Gratitude and respect to all of our Veterans today and every day! Thank you ALL for your service!

10/24/2021

https://bestlifeonline.com/strawberries-alzheimers-risk-news/

By adding one serving of this fruit to your diet weekly, you can slash your Alzheimer's risk by more than a third, research shows.

09/16/2021

Just a reminder from me, Tracy Henderson Hunter, founder of Helping Hands Homes FL LLC, to take time to take care of yourself and enjoy the little things...from a beautiful sunrise, to a gorgeous sunset, and all the little things in between. Life is short, time goes fast. Appreciate the little things and the people in life that make it special. And try to begin and end each day with a grateful heart.

08/11/2021

Contact us today for your FREE Home Assessment!

08/10/2021

If you or someone you know needs to transition out of their home and sell quick, we can help! Get a FREE Home Assessment today!

07/28/2021

Helping Hands Homes – We help seniors transition out of their homes with dignity and save time, money & stress! We buy older, dated homes AS-IS, quick cash offers, no commissions/ fees. No need to repair, renovate, clean or even pack! We can handle it all and are here to serve you!

Contact us today for a FREE Home Assessment!

07/25/2021

Do you have a loved one that is downsizing or needs to go into assisted living or long-term care that needs to sell their home fast?
We help seniors & their families transitioning out of their homes and can save them time, money & added stress! We will treat them and their homes with the respect and dignity they deserve.
Visit us today at www.helpinghandshomes.com
to schedule your FREE home assessment.

Helping Seniors Who Are Transitioning into Long-Term Care

07/23/2021

Do you or a loved one need to downsize or transition into senior housing/assisted living? At Helping Hands Homes FL LLC, WE CAN HELP!

We can help SAVE TIME, MONEY and STRESS for seniors and their families during this process. We buy houses AS-IS, (with or without their contents), with no need for expensive and time consuming repairs and renovations! You don't even have to clean the house! We can take care of that for you.

There are no need for fees or real estate commissions if we buy property directly, and no need to deal with inspections, appraisals, showings, etc.. Our senior transition specialists can provide a FREE Home Assessment and offer a fair price based on condition, repairs & updates needed, and can go over it with you in detail so you can make an informed decision. We pay cash and can typically close within 30 days and/or work around your schedule. We are here to SERVE YOU.

And the best part? If you aren't local to handle it yourself or are just too busy/exhausted to deal with it, we can handle the care and handling of a lifetime of possessions. We can coordinate with senior move experts and/or donate or discard things no longer needed.

If you may have a house coming up that you need to sell, please let us know how we can help.

07/14/2021

This is something many people don't like to talk about but better to deal with it head on. If you don't face it now, someone will have to when you are gone. If you or a loved one is downsizing, going into assisted living or long-term care, or soon facing the loss of a loved one and heading into probate, one question is sure to arise:

What should we do with all of this stuff??????

Many of us spend a lifetime collecting treasures and trinkets from our adventures and travels. Some keep every gift and card ever received. For a senior citizen, that's 65+ years worth of stuff!

The reality is, while you may treasure these things while you are here, much of it can become a burden to others when you are gone. And let's be honest...does anyone really want every manual for every household appliance you've ever bought since 1974? Or the half used batteries in the kitchen junk drawer? Or even the glassware, old linens, or our grandmother's china? This article helps understand what may be worth holding on to, and what may be worth letting go of. Understanding this can save everyone time, heartaches, and headaches.

We are often attached to "stuff" but even things that have significant and/or sentimental value to us will be valued differently by someone else. We can't expect our children to want every thing we do and even things we think have financial value may not be as worth holding onto as we think.

This was a conversation my family talked about on occasion but aging, health issues and Alzheimers got in the way of us actually being able to address it sufficiently until after our parents passed. We didn't care about money or stuff, we just wanted our parents and when we lost them, nothing else mattered much to us because stuff is replaceable, people are not. Still within 2 years time, we inherited 2 households & 3 lifetimes of stuff - a combined 213 years worth of possessions from our mother, stepmother and father.

While we were grief stricken and yet still grateful for everything they ever did for us, we didn't care about what they could leave us. Out of all that, I really only wanted one thing from each of them - a bowl from my mother that I remember her serving many meals in, my dad's guitar picks because I spent my childhood listening to him practice his pedal steel guitar, and my stepmom's bible, because it was special to her and it is special to me. All of those items could fit in a small 12"x12" box, yet my siblings and I paid for a garaged sized storage for nearly a year as we finished sorted thru everything after they passed. We went thru every card and paper ever saved (and there were tons of them! so it took time, and money, to go thru in detail the way our mother would have wanted us to, to be sure we didn't overlook anything important. And multiple estate sales, yard sales, and donation drop offs. It was absolutely overwhelming to do while grieving but had to be done. It was overwhelming and would have been impossible to deal with from out of state as many adult kids are.

Thankfully there is a better way. Much of this can be addressed early, by having honest conversations about what people may want or need, or don't want or need, and how to handle the rest, including the property itself.

At Helping Hands Homes FL LLC, we can help with all of it because we've been through it before. We can help save time, money and added emotional duress going thru this process to eventually downsize and/or sell the home.

Check out the article to help plan ahead, and let us know if we can help you and your family.
https://www3.forbes.com/business/objects-your-kids-dont-want-what-to-do-when-they-dont-like-you/20/