California Closets Makes Major Donation to Valerie's House for New Forever Home
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FORT MYERS, FLA.,– California Closets has made a major gift to Valerie’s House for its new Forever Home under construction at 3551 Shoemaker Lane in Fort Myers.
California Closets has donated $50,000 to sponsor one of the new therapy rooms and has agreed to donate the materials and labor to install the built-in shelving and closets throughout the home. “We are very grateful to California Closets for helping us build our new Forever Home,” said Valerie’s House Founder and CEO Angela Melvin. “The generosity of Bo Woods and Suzi Henderson ensures that we will be able to fulfill our mission of no child grieving alone after the death of a loved one.”
The built-ins will be needed throughout the home to store materials needed for grief support activities, according to Sterling Lund, Valerie’s House project manager. One of the most important areas to be built into the new home will be the teddy bear wall.
Woods said they have been supporters of Valerie’s House for several years.
“Our goal is to apply our expertise and product to create a calm, organized space that allows the staff at Valerie’s House to focus on what matters most,” Woods said.
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California Closets plans to spend a day volunteering on property to install their custom pieces. “It is important to our company that everyone can be involved in helping make this project possible” says Woods.
A total of $2.5 million has been raised toward the $3 million cost of the new home that is under construction on land donated by the City of Fort Myers under a $1 per year lease. Several room sponsorship opportunities for the community are available.
The home will be a cozy, warm, old Florida style structure, with special rooms like a volcano room, which allows children to work out any anger or other emotions they have because of their loss. The 7,000-square-foot facility will allow Valerie’s House to help more children and provide wrap-around services, such as individual grief counseling to support families who desperately need it.
Lennar Homes is acting as the project manager for the construction of the home, which is expected to be completed by mid-2023.
Valerie’s House has helped more than 2,000 children and their families since its founding in 2016 by Angela Melvin, whose own mother was killed in a car accident in 1987.
One in seven children in Florida is predicted to lose a parent or sibling before the age of 25, according to the 2022 Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model.
Valerie’s House currently offers peer support groups and other activities at locations in Fort Myers, Naples, Punta Gorda, and Port Charlotte. Valerie's House is a United Way partner agency and is fully supported by community donations.
For more information about Valerie’s House or to make a donation to the Forever Home Campaign, visit www.valerieshouseswfl.org/capital-campaign, call 239-478-6734, or write angela@valerieshouseswfl.org.
About Valerie’s House
Valerie’s House opened in January 2016 and has served more than 2,000 children and their families from Lee, Collier, Charlotte, and Hendry counties. The organization provides a safe, comfortable place for children to share, grieve and heal together following the death of a close family member. Valerie’s House has three locations: 1762 Fowler St. in downtown Fort Myers, 819 Myrtle Terrace in Naples and group therapy meetings at several churches in Charlotte County. For more information, visit www.valerieshouse.org
About California Closets
For more than forty years, California Closets has built a reputation as a leader in premium and luxury space management, delivering truly custom products and unparalleled service California Closets sees home as more than just a place—it is a source of comfort and refuge, a space for connection and celebration. Committed to offering quality custom storage solutions, California Closets helps give people a sense or organization that allows them to focus on what matters most. Today, there are 120 showrooms and 700+ designers across North America.
