Making a Difference in the Community

Students from Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Petersburg are volunteering to paint the St. Petersburg home of Hamide and Zulfi Lika, who provide around the clock care for their disabled son, 41-year old Jeffery. Eight students and a teacher will join The Home Depot Foundation and the Abilities Foundation in painting the home at 6172 4th Avenue N. in St. Petersburg on Monday and Tuesday, March 4 & 5.

"Shorecrest students raised and contributed money to and are volunteering to improve the home of a local resident with a severe disability,” said Frank De Lucia, Abilities Foundation president and CEO. "What fine exemplars of young men and women sharing their resources and talents to serve and improve our community.”

Jeffery Lika sustained a brain stem injury in a 1996 motor vehicle accident when a driver ran a stop sign and broadsided his car. He spent 90 days in a coma and has endured years of physical, occupational and speech therapy. Living with his parents, he is unable to feed himself, dress himself or shower alone. His parents, 67 and 79 years old, have provided constant care for him since the accident.

Shorecrest Preparatory School is participating in its 4th annual Service Week/Mini-mester. The entire Upper Division student body, in 21 groups, will be out participating in a variety of programs that combine serving and learning during the final week of school before spring break. Local groups are spread out across the Tampa Bay region serving a variety of needs, and some groups are serving globally in Guatemala and Costa Rica, and nationally in Louisiana in Tennessee. The Home Depot Foundation is donating all of the materials for the project.