Welcome to our Greetings of Gratitude page, where we express notes of thanks and highlight the “above and beyond” types of acts that help us to lift up our residents every day to improve their lives. These acts can be of great effort, or a small kindness extended, such as driving someone to an appointment, the dropping off of an unexpected gift, or pitching in to help with cleanup, maintenance, or building something new that will enhance the homes and grounds where our residents live. Gratitude is fundamental for well-being, and we are ever so grateful to those who selflessly give of their time, talent, and treasure for all of us at Genesis House!
April 29, 2024. MCC Teachers gathered on Friday, April 26th, for a day of community service and we were fortunate for all these helping hands!! They assisted in completing much needed yard work, powerwashing, painting, cleaning and preparing packets for the upcoming Genesis House Golf Tournament.
March 31, 2024. Fraternal Order of Orioles Nest 272 Sebastian, FL gathered and assembled Easter basket treats for our residents. Sue Imbro (Mgr), Cheryl, and Cookie delivered these adorable baskets to ensure each of our residents would know the Easter Bunny visited Genesis House! We are grateful for their generous hearts to think of our residents during this holiday season! Happy Easter to all!!Suntree Ladies Tennis Club hosted a fundraiser for Genesis House and gifted us with a monetary donations and much needed supplies. Michelle Salazar and Amy Seitz delivered new backpacks for the children, new pillows, blankets and mattress pad protectors and a few stuffed animals! Our bins are now full and we are so very grateful for their generous hearts.
February 26, 2024. The Satellite Beach National Honor Society students collected much needed hygiene supplies and “new home kit” supplies for Genesis House. Our cabinets are full for a while thanks to the generosity of these students! We are so very grateful!
January 18, 2024. Vickie Kaufman and the amazing ladies with New Neighbors of South Brevard Beach did it again! Today they provided us with much needed pajamas for our children. This group of ladies are part of a social club and also have a services committee which collects money for shelters in the area. All of the women are very generous with their donations and we are extremely grateful to be the recipient of their big hearts!!
December 28, 2023. Weather Engineers Air Conditioning delivered gifts, making wishes come true for our children AND moms!!!
December 21, 2023. Tannya & Chris Simms and the CDS Builders team delivered amazing gifts for our children! Each child will surely feel the love that was put into the selection of gifts which will make them feel the magic of the Christmas season. Our hearts are full of gratitude for your generosity!
December 21, 2023. Christmas morning breakfast is provided this year from Alluvionic. Phoebe DeBoever and Courtney McCloud organized and delivered a collection of breakfast items for our residents to enjoy as a special treat. They will be enjoying fresh eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Hash Browns, Bread, Frozen Waffles, Syrup, Muffins, Milk, Orange Juice, Apple Juice, and Hot Cocoa. Thank you so very much for this special treat for our residents!
December 21, 2023. Today we finished wrapping gifts for our residents. “Elves” were Shelley, Sara, MaryBeth, Joyce, Rosalie, Laura, Dee, Kristen, Wanda, and Joe.Our dedicated house managers will ensure that on Christmas morning the tree will be surrounded with love from all of our very generous donors – the children will be squealing in delight as the mom’s also enjoy gifts, too!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this day so special for our residents!
December 18, 2023. Karen Russell, a member of the Sanctuary community in Indialantic, coordinated with her friends and neighbors and provided a wonderful donation of a variety of gifts for our residents. We thank them for their thoughtfulness and wish them a very Merry Christmas and a happy healthy New Year!
December 17, 2023. Vickie Kaufman with New Neighbors of South Brevard organized a collection of various items for our residents to help make their Christmas a little more special. As they did last year, our kids received a pair of pajamas and a new book to read. This year was extra special as the kids also received a brand new jacket, too! The mom’s also received a special treat as well. New Neighbors of South Brevard is a social club which includes a services committee that collects needed items for shelters in the area. The women in this group are very generous and help many children in our community. We are grateful to be recipients of their generosity.
December 15, 2023. Debra Fay and Trish Loso organized and delivered new books, coloring books, crayons/colored pencils, and toys for our children, and small gifts for the mom’s again this year. We are so thankful for their continued support of our residents!
Their P.E.O. Sisterhood is an educationally based mission. They also provide scholarships and low interest loans for women interested in higher education. You can learn more about this wonderful organization by visiting https://www.peointernational.org/.
December 15, 2023. Lola Grace reached out again this year to help make Christmas special for our residents. She coordinated with members of her school to make wishes come true. For information about her club, please contact her through the Melbourne Central Catholic High School Key Club.
December 13, 2023. Many thanks to Jennifer for coordinating with members of 1st Baptist Church of Indialantic. These elves were busy stuffing stockings and gathering toys for all the good girls and boys (and mom’s)! Our residents will surely feel their love, and their love of Jesus, on Christmas morning and for days to come thanks to their generosity.
Kristen Snyder exclaimed “MERRY AND BRIGHT like the bright red gift bag says – That’s what our kids and moms will be feeling on Christmas morning!!”
October 21, 2023. Many thanks to David Hess (Christian Care Ministry) and Susan Howell (TEW Director of Business Development – Technology Division) for ensuring our kids have an awesome Halloween. Susan reached out to us with the generous offer to supply all our children with their desired Halloween costume and snacks for a party. She coordinated the collection effort with her co-workers and provided not only the costumes but decorations, gift bags, and lots of candy!! She even included a check from the SIM Foundation!!!!
Susan and David delivered everything and the kids were so excited!!! They quickly put on their costumes and practiced for the big night!!
We are so very grateful for their generous hearts and for helping to bring joy to our residents and giving them the best Halloween treat.
August 29, 2023. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to Ann Dunkin and the 1st Baptist Church of Melbourne. We are blessed to receive much needed supplies of Size 5 diapers, toothpaste, body wash, body lotion, toothpaste, snacks for the children, and large kitchen trash bags. Our shelves are restocked for now with this very generous donation.
August 19, 2023. Thank you so very much Jennifer for helping us. We have a new house manager joining us and her living quarters needed to be deep cleaned before she moves in. You were so gracious to squeeze us in and did a FABULOUS job!!! Wired2Clean is a perfect name for your business as your finished product shows you are “wired to clean” anything and everything!!!If you are looking for someone to clean, one time or on a schedule, please reach out to Jennifer and her team!
August 15, 2023. Boutique lead volunteer, Holly, and others spend hours sorting through your generous donations each week, tagging and ensuring there is enough inventory in our store. It was becoming overwhelming until some organizational fairies arrived!! The vision was discussed with Boutique Manager ChaCha and Holly, measurements taken, plan reviewed and a few supplies purchased.New volunteer, Kelly, gathered some of her friends from First Baptist Church Indialantic and the Joyful Prayer Group. These amazing ladies devoted an afternoon of their time to sorting and organizing the workspace for Holly and her team of volunteers.
Holly and volunteer Debbie said they now LOVE the workspace and can’t wait for our other Boutique volunteers to see it. Holly said it’s just so beautiful and much easier to manage the flow of donations. This task could not have been accomplished so fast without this powerhouse of faithful and hard working ladies!
We are very grateful to those who donate items to and shop at the Boutique in support of our program.
August 12, 2023. Many thanks to the continued support of Ann Dunkin and the 1st Baptist Church of Melbourne. Ann has been organizing donation events for our residents for many years – a quick phone call to get a list of our current needs and off she goes!! We were blessed to receive much needed new pillows, hair brushes, toothpaste, hygiene products, and even paper towels to name a few items. These were quickly distributed to our residents before we could get a picture of her wonderful efforts. Volunteers and donations are a vital part of supporting the women and children in need at our houses.
We are very grateful for the continued support of our program.
August 8, 2023. Stephanie reached out to us that her son, Parker, wanted to donate some of his toys to the children at Genesis House. Today they stopped by with their donation. Our house manager Velina was thrilled to meet this young man with such a kind heart.These toys will provide hours of fun for the kids.
June 20, 2023. Trust and Believe, Trust and Believe – You will hear Ms. Velina Duncan repeat this phrase and she is right every time!!! Today we were blessed with a food delivery of 3 large bins that had to be sorted to restock our food pantry for the residents. Volunteers Wanda Cordelli and Sara McGuire sent out the call for help a couple weeks ago and the response was wonderful. Given the hot temperatures and chance for rain, our amazing volunteers Jeanene Petrone, Joe Hill, Mary Matta, MaryBeth Pace, Joyce Ballack, Sheila Brennan, Fonda Durner, Jennifer Clendinen, and Velina Duncan, led by Wanda and Sara, all showed up to sort and stock shelves. This team completed the task in record time and before the storms rolled in just as we finished at 1 p.m.Trust and Believe! God made sure the task was completed before the rains came!
June 13, 2023. Once again, Sylvia and the Holy Name of Jesus Thrift Store helped us out!! They provided a beautiful recliner and dresser for one of our House Managers. Miss Velina is just over the top grateful for this generous donation and can now relax in the evening to watch TV or read in the peacefulness of her room. Many thanks to the donors of these lovely items!
June 13, 2023. At the start of hurricane season we were fortunate to have Dickinson and his wife Elizabeth come and trim back some overgrown trees for us. This relieves the concern of branches breaking off and damaging the fence or nearby cars when storms roll through our area. We are so thankful for their caring hearts and excellent work. Please consider calling Affordable Tree Service at 321-317-4044 for your next tree trimming job.
May 12, 2023. Just in time for Mother’s Day weekend, Nick Migliaccio with Christian Care Ministry shared his time and talent with mowing, weed-eating, edging, trimming bushes, and removing overgrown plants at one of our residences. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but he filled 6 large yard waste bins!!! We are so very grateful for his hard work and dedication to helping us.
May 12, 20203. Today we had the privilege of meeting Barbara Struttman as she delivered handmade fresh flower arrangements for each of our residents, the house managers, and the case managers. We are so thankful she shared her talents and love of flowers with our moms. Everyone was so happy to receive these beautiful arrangements. Wishing all moms a very happy Mother’s Day weekend!
May 11, 2023. Baby Blessings showered us with diapers and wipes this Mother’s Day for the 8th year in a row!!! Chris Neilson and Jose Mandese filled their cars with donations they collected and delivered an abundance of supplies for our residents. We are so very thankful for their dedication to help others and for providing this generous gift for our moms at Genesis House!
April 1, 2023. We helped set up one of our residents and her daughter in their own apartment due to generous donations from individual donors, Holy Name of Jesus Thrift Store, Holy Trinity Thrift Store, David Bowen (Christian Care Ministry), Don Carter, Wanda and Gary Cordelli. They now have a kitchen table & chairs, end tables, TV and TV table, couch, bed frames, night stands, lamps and an extra-large teddy bear to snuggle with. These items were picked up and delivered by David, Don, Wanda and Gary. Her new home bins from Genesis House contain dishes, coffee cups, glasses, sippy cups, pots and pans, utensils, cloth hangers, sheets, towels, bath mats, laundry baskets and a couple toys. She is very grateful for the outpouring of support from all the donors and Genesis House in helping her to establish a home for herself and her daughter.
February 28, 2023. We received a pleasant surprise today from Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Iota Kappa Sigma Chapter of food, diapers, wipes, and children’s underwear for our residents. This helps our mom’s out with needed items to reduce their stress level of how they will provide for their children. Thank you to the wonderful sorority members for their continued support of Genesis House.
February 28, 2023. Many thanks to Lori Guisewite and Paula for the clothing rack. This is a perfect addition to one resident’s room so they are able to hang and store their items while they are with us. We appreciate Joe Hill for assembling the rack for us.
February 28, 2023. We received a bountiful donation of food for our residents which have filled our pantry. Much thanks to Trinity Church members for their generosity to our residents which they truly appreciate the help to reduce their weekly food bills. The blessing of the food after delivery was an extra special touch which we know makes a difference.
February 25, 2023. Gianna Theodoropoulos, West Shore Student Government Secretary, reached out to us for a current list of needs as the students wanted to help the residents at Genesis House. Thanks to the efforts of the West Shore Student Government Association members, we are the recipients of a huge bounty of twin sheets, crib sheets, pillows, blankets, and food from the Junior/Senior High School. We are very grateful for the work the students and staff put into making this happen and helping to support our program!
February 15, 2023. We are grateful to the generous women’s group at River Run Church in Melbourne for their most recent collection of household items and hygiene products for our residents. Thank you ladies for your caring hearts and for your continued support of our program.
February 14, 2023. We are so very grateful to Ultimate Dance Florida students and moms! Jenn Kimbrough led the effort to collect donations needed and team members made Valentine cards for our residents. Their donations brought one resident to tears explaining this was her first ever Valentine’s Day gift. Everyone enjoyed the extra special treat of fresh fruit and cookies. We appreciate your generosity and truly making this a very special holiday for our residents!
January 24, 2023. We received a very large food delivery which helped us restock the pantry for our residents. With the help of many, the food was sorted and stocked on our shelves. Thank you to all those who donated, and a special thanks to Payton, Sandy, Luis, Mary Beth, Dorrie, Sara, Mary, and our House Manager, Velina, who shared their time to complete this task!
December 14, 2022. The MCC National Honor Society members rallied and collected gifts to fill Christmas stockings for all our residents. Lola DeSantis and Hannah Shorthouse filled the backseat and front seat of my car!! Their generosity goes beyond all expectations from this amazing group of teenagers. There will be so much joy Christmas morning in our homes because of these thoughtful gifts. Thank you!
December 11, 2022. It’s the season for generosity. Thank you to Palm Bay Eagles Lodge…they stuffed Wanda’s SUV with new toys and gifts for Christmas and diapers for our kids!
Also a shout out to Holy Name of Jesus Kindergartners, 1st, and 2nd graders who collected cleaning supplies, Christmas, ornaments, gift cards, and supplies for a great Christmas breakfast! Your kindness at this time of year is so appreciated!
November 22, 2022. Our residents were overjoyed today to receive their own “Pamper Yourself” basket which was delivered by Kristina Peterson. Kristina is part of a mom’s group at Central Baptist Church and they knew exactly what items to include to make each of our mom’s feel special.
We are very grateful to receive such a thoughtful gift during this Thanksgiving holiday!
November 12, 2022. On November 12, just days after Hurricane Nicole, volunteers from Christian Care Ministry provided us with a day of service for all 3 of our homes. They raked leaves, cleaned up storm debris, power washed the sidewalks, children’s outdoor toys and lawn furniture, trimmed plants, weeded flower beds, and even mowed the grass. It was a very productive morning with a nice breeze.A resident returned home later that day and sent the following message: “When I went out front and saw all the work done I had tears in my eyes. Tears of JOY!!!! ❤😀❤”
We are very grateful for their help and look forward to working with them again – what an amazing group of volunteers!
October 12, 2022. Knights of Columbus Women’s Auxiliary from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church hosted a “baby shower collection” for the residents at Genesis House. Their generosity helped us to restock on much needed diapers, wipes, baby clothing, bath towels, baby shampoo, and baby blankets to name just a few items. Our donation table was overflowing as well as the hearts of our residents who will be receiving these thoughtful gifts.
We thank you for your continued support of our program.
July 25, 2022. While dropping off clothing donations, Wendy Danowski and her husband expressed a desire to provide food from their restaurant, Double D’s BBQ, for our residents to give them a break from cooking. We accepted this generous offer and they supplied us with delicious food for our “Christmas in July” back to school party for our residents. Everyone enjoyed a night off from cooking and the children squealed with delight that Santa brought backpacks full of school supplies, a new outfit and a toy!
We appreciate everyone’s support to make this happen for our residents.
June 28, 2022. Vicki Hardin and Melissa from the Respiratory Therapy Department at Viera Hospital organized a food collection for our residents. They gathered items not typically donated and are so appreciated by our residents. We received single serve boxes of cereal for adults and children, instant oatmeal in packets with a variety of flavors, grape jelly in plastic containers along with peanut butter, kids snack items (juice boxes, individual apple sauces or fruits, peanut butter cracker packets, animal cracker packets) and condiments like ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise to name just a few.We are thankful for the generosity of those donating and are grateful to Melissa and Vicki for organizing and delivering this wonderful donation today.
May 11, 2022. What a wonderful surprise to be greeted by boxes and bins full of donations from the Holy Name of Jesus Council of Catholic Women Mother’s Day collection. Our sorting table was overflowing with brand new outfits, baby toys, stuffed animals, bibs, and bottles to name just a few items. And then there were diapers of all sizes and wipes. The young mothers receiving these items are so very grateful for your generosity. Thank you!
April 30, 2022. Calvary Chapel Clean-Up Day. On April 30th, volunteers from Calvary Chapel provided us with a day of service for our 3 homes. They were joined by Dickinson and Elizabeth Martinez, owners of Affordable Tree Service at House I. They raked leaves, cleaned gutters, cut/hauled tree limbs, fixed latch for stroller storage, washed the house, planted a new shrub, and mulched all the flower beds. A total of 40 containers of leaves were cleaned up and 30 bags of mulch were spread at House I. It was a very productive day with a nice breeze.
December 17, 2021. MCC students from the Heart to Heart Club organized a donation drive for items needed by our residents when they move onto their own homes. Dishes, coffee cups, drinking glasses, silverware, kitchen utensils, towels, shower curtains, and hangers, to name just some of the items. Their donation allowed us to complete 5 New Home Starter Packages for our residents as they move into their own homes.
We are very grateful for their generosity and a heart for those in need!
December 16, 2021. Presents for our holiday party delivered by Beth and Cary Graham, owner of The Refinishing Guys. Gifts donated by Progressive Insurance, FIT, HNJ Knight of Columbus, Rotary Club, and others. Stockings for the children we donated by group of local school children organized by Payton and Lucy. Much appreciation to Doug Flutie for escorting Santa and Mrs. Claus!!
December 14, 2021. Cathy Koos, Girl Up advisor at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, delivered baby bibs made by her group of young ladies. The group has learned how to knit and made five baby bibs for Genesis House for Christmas.
Many thanks to Cathy and her Girl Up team, we look forward to future projects with them!
December 10-11, 2021. We are so grateful for ALL the donors who provided new toys, clothing and filled stockings for our residents this year. Many thanks to Tony and her co-workers at Hotel Melby for assisting with providing the perfect conference room to work in!!!!
The first team of volunteers (below) came on Friday, Dec 10th, to prepare for the wrapping party. Joe Hill and Payton Allen sorted and organized donations as they were delivered. Then they helped Beth and Cary Graham, owners of The Refinishing Guys, load and transport all the donations for us.
The second team of volunteers (below) arrived at Hotel Melby and unpacked, sorted and assembled “wish list” items and gifts for all our residents. This team of volunteers was Joe Hill, Payton Allen, Allison Russell, Sara McGuire, Michelle Robinson, Roma Zimmerman, Kathy Moriarty, Sonia Baldwin, Genesis House Administrator Kristen Snyder with our Case Managers and House Managers.
Progressive Insurance (photos below) provided gifts and volunteers for our wrapping party which was held the morning of Sat Dec 11th.
Chad Biggins and family
Geanette Heywood and daughter
Angel and Callie Steidl
Kevin Delgado and Abbigail
Angela Coleman
Barbie Saldana
These awesome volunteers were joined by Founder of Genesis House, Mary Allen, Administrator Kristen Snyder with our Case Managers and House Managers and completed the task by lunch time!!!
When the wrapping party was over Cary and Beth assisted in transporting the gifts back to our house and will deliver some to our Resident Holiday Party at Wickham Park.
This team of people and many others are brightening the holiday season for our residents. There will surely be squeals of joy on Christmas morning at our houses due to everyone’s generosity of gifts, time and talents.
Merry Christmas!!
December 9, 2021. We are overwhelmed with the AMAZING special delivery from Nicole Rhodes (Administrative Assistant III, Enrollment Management, Florida Institute of Technology, and Aly Keller) for the SUV full of toys for our residents. Working from the Wish List provided, they helped to ensure our residents received items they requested. Our residents will be so thrilled and so are we for your generosity!!
December 9, 2021. A huge shout-out to Eddie Struttman of Indialantic Ace Hardware and the HNJ Knights of Columbus for a cart full of toys for our children! They are making wishes come true! Thank you so very much!!
November 26, 2021. The following is a message we received from Constance Diehl…”My grandchildren will be purchasing gifts for a child in need to donate for Christmas. I would like them to be able to bring them to you as part of the process. They don’t need to see who gets the gift or watch someone open them, but I want them to “give” the gift to someone. Is this possible? Can they bring them in November?”
What a wonderful family with generous hearts! We were honored to receive the gifts and participate in this important life lesson of giving! Thank you to Constance, and her grandchildren Kendall, Kingston, Novalie, Jamison, McKinley, and Malakai!!
November 22, 2021. Our sincere gratitude and thanks to the Holy Name of Jesus Butterflies Prayer Group (Allison Russell, Chris Saukel, Lisa Payne, Sara Maguire, Lee Fallon). These amazing women helped assemble gift bags for each of our residents for Christmas with a donation of face creams, lotions, makeup, and lipstick from Kohl’s! We really appreciate your time and support!!
November 19, 2021. A huge thank you to Satellite Beach Family Dentistry and Dr. Cauldron who donated many children’s toothbrushes and Polident for our senior women! We really appreciate your continued support!
November 19, 2021. WOW WOW WOW! We would like to extend a special thanks to Amazing Explorers Academy for their donation of hygiene products, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, deodorant, soap, razors, combs, sanitary products, and baby food that COMPLETELY restocked our supply cabinets!! What a blessing and perfect timing, too! We are grateful for you!
November 10, 2021. Tony and his crew from Captain’s Tree Service, (321) 265-9203, just completed work for us at one of our residences. They removed dead trees that were becoming dangerous to our property and power lines. They did an amazing job, arrived on time, and left our property clean and tidy! We are so grateful for their service!
November 5, 2021. Christian Care Ministry recently completed a Day of Service at two of our homes on Saturday, October 2, 2021, and they did an AMAZING job cleaning up our property. Shrubs and trees were trimmed, porches were cleaned, weeds were pulled from flower beds, and power washing was completed on sidewalks, garbage cans, outdoor furniture, and play-sets. A mosquito bush was also planted to help our residents stay bite-free!
A HUGE thank you to Sondra Woodard, Kurt White, Lisa White, Emma White, Ian White, Dave Hess, Calla Hess, Debra Jones, and Brad Jones for their hard work to make us look shiny and new!