WACO football team helps New Life House

The WACO football team assisted New Life House in Wayland in moving locations on Friday.

The football team came to support after Pastor, and New Life House board member, Jason Collier asked for help with the transition.

"I put out that we were going to need help, and I had football parents that messaged me and said this is something the football team might want to help with," Collier said.

After talking with coach Chad Edeker, the team was in.

"We immediately talked with coach, and he was all in," Collier said. "He said, 'I'm going to let the players know and see if this is something they want to do. I think this will be a good thing.' I'm getting goose bumps just talking about it."

Collier said the kids were a huge help, and some even showed up early.

"I said be there at 8 a.m., and they were there at 7:30 a.m.," he said. "Then the whole team showed up at noon. We fed them. We said a prayer. We told them what they were doing and how much we appreciated them. By 3 o'clock, there was nothing left to move. It was empty, and there were five women living in that house. They all have beds, they all have dressers and food. You can't imagine the amount of stuff they had to move. It was amazing. Super proud of those guys."

There was a slew of people who helped the shelter move locations.

The youth group from the Sugar Creek Mennonite Church helped in the moving process. 4-M Plumbing and Heating and Edgar Heating and Cooling provided trailers.

The bar provided food for the event, and Crawford Meat provided 150 hot dogs.

For Collier, it was a total group effort.

New Life House is a home for women in transition.

The idea is to help women who are down and out. The goal is to mentor them, love them, and help them get back into the world.

There are numerous reasons why women may choose to go to New Life House.

"Some find themselves in a homeless shelter, some find themselves in an abusive situation, and some are coming out of drug or alcohol treatment," Collier said. "Others are just young ladies who are trying to start life on their own. Some have mental health issues. There's a large spectrum of women that we are able to help."

The shelter is moving locations due to issues with the ceiling.

Since the board first started renting the house five years ago, they refurnished the floor and put in a bathtub.

They are now making the move out of the house because they were unable to resolve the issues, including mold and mildew, caused by the holes in the ceiling.

Collier said that they couldn't continue fixing things in the house.

The new location is a house that's around the same size but is sided and insulated. There is also an addition to the kitchen.

A group of ladies that are part of a church group are the ones who mentor the women. They're the ones who drive them to and from work and doctor's appointments.

Collier says it's great that they can help them get back on their feet.

"It's amazing," he said. "It helps them get on their feet and learn how to pay bills again. They also help them get transportation and reliable housing. It's important to continue that friendship as they grow into the community."

Comments:hunter.moeller@southeastiowaunion.com