This is a List of Our Up and Coming Events
GOOD MORNING OLAH FAMILY!
June 5, 2025
Finally, I now have 3 homeowner candidates for our free services! These are 3 homeowners that have met all the criteria as 'needs-based' and it's now time to go into planning mode for all the materials and human capital to execute on a community service event!
The locations are:
1) House number one is on Winding Oak Drive, located just off Hennderson road and just north of Linebaugh avenue. At that location we'll trim the trees in the backyard and remove an oak tree that has already once been cut to the ground a few years back and is now a larger tree, growing right next to the house! We'll be addressing some other smaller bushes for trimming and pressure washing the sidewalk and driveway. (TIME FRAME: A saturday morning in JULY 2025)
2) House number two is located on Sand Lake court in Northdale. At this house we have a task to cut the grass, trim the hedges and pressure wash the sidewalk and driveway. I'm still in need of doing a site survey to assess anything else the homeowner needs to have done. This is a quick and easy job that would be one of our mini-community service events that could be done during the week depending on number of volunteers that could be available to join us. (TIME FRAME: TBD, could be a weekday in June or a Saturday morning)
3) House number three is also located on Sand Lake court in Northdale. This homeowner is having difficulty with a few of the neighbors dogs that get through the back fence and terrorize her cats. Because there is no back fence owned by this homeonwer, we'll be building, from scratch a nice board on board wood fence that are designed, when properly maintained, will last up to 20 years. This house I also need to do a site survey to see exactly what else is needed. (TIME FRAME: A Saturday morning in August 2025)
A note to everyone: There are many people in a needs-based situation throughout Hillsborough County and we want to know about them. With limited resources, we are forced to look for the highest and most urgent need to work with because blessing people in need is what this faith-based orgainzation is all about. We are not profit motivated which means NO ONE is compensated financially, ever, because as a IRS recognized 501c3, it is about the beneficiary of our services only. What we ask is 3 fold; your time, your talents and your financial support. Volunteer in any capacity you see fit, many of our volunteers come back for another event! in fact, I have a handful of volunteers that have been with us since 2018 when we worked on our first community serviice event, amazing!!
E-mail is of just register on this site by clicking on the VOLUNTEER button on the home page. your name will be added to the list for an upcoming event. Be a blessing to someone that really needs it and join us for an event, you won't be disappointed!
Blessings to you and yours,
Jim
Good day faithful OLAH followers and supporters!
With the completion of the May 6th community service event on Green Pastures drive in Northdale, I first would like to take a moment to thank each of our volunteers that made that day possible. Without you, the dream would have been many days longer in achieving and without you, so many of these projects would not have happened. So THANK YOU to each and every one of you that have been a part of this program going back to as far as 2018!
OK, today I'm on the hunt for another candidate or two for one of either our standard, large scale community service events OR for a smaller, what we call a 'mini0event', where we meet at the customer home and complete a smaller project that only takes a few hours to complete. That kind of task is pressure washing, trimming of a tree and in short, a singular event that is not the same as our combined events. If you know of anyone in this situation and within Northdale OR a neighboring community, here are the guidelines for qualifying a candidate, below;
- Must be a homeowner,
- Must not have the resources to pay for the needed work, and ,
- Must not have the physical ability to do the work themselves
Additionally, if the homeowner has the physical ability to work on the updates, repairs, etc., then OLAH will partner with the homeowner to find a way to get the needed repairs and other requirements met.
I've been asked "why the requirement to be a homeowner". Well, that is because we have no legal authority to do any repairs to a home not owned by the tenant, that responsibility is the sole responsibility of the landlord/owner to work.
VETERANS: If you are a veteran, this is a plus because Home Depot has a fund setup called Team Depot with significant funding. What that means is that a home can receive more than what I generally receive in product support from HD and we always enjoy the opportunity to do more for our neighbors, I only wish that for someday to see more funding that is used for all other categories of what we call 'needs-based'.
Lastly, if you know of anyone that falls into the category mentioned above, please contact me at the number below and I'll do the background work for qualifying the candidate.
Jim Salgado
Founder and President
Operation LEND A HAND, inc
((813)962-7292
Another Community Service Event
DATE: January 11, 2025
TIME: 0800, 8 AM Saturday
LOCATION: 4108 Summerdale Dr in Northdale
Details:
Well be removing the old fence and building a new fence for my neighbors. They are both senior citizens, on a fixed income and experiencing multiple health issues. They are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He is a veteran and struggles to walk so there's not much he's able to do around the house.
The job will likely occur in 2 parts. On Wednesday, January 8th, will be for removal of the existing wood fencing then measure and set the poles in concrete. The 2nd phase would happen 2-3 days later, (on January 11th, Saturday) where we'll add mulch to all the beds, pressure wash the driveway and sidewalk, remove the Christmas lights and clean up the leaves, all easy jobs. This is a FAMILY FRIENDLY event but we ask parents to supervise their children and yes, we encourage them to help as part of the team effort.
Remember, OLAH always brings lunch of Jersey Mike's, served at the end of the event, normally between 11-noon.
FYI: we're negotiating with Mission BBQ to serve lunch at future events!!
If you've never volunteered with Operation LEND A HAND Inc, you're truly missing out on something quite special.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: I'm hoping to recruit approximately 10-12 volunteers to do this job.
It's important to REGISTER BEFORE THE EVENT as I'm planning in advance for any PPE and for your lunch.
If you can join us, and I encourage you to, let me know. PM me for more details
Hi everyone! Who is ready for another Community Service Event???
DATE: June 8, 2024
TIME: 0800 Hrs.
LOCATION: 4209 Windtree Dr (Tampa/Northdale)
TASK: Pressure washing, palm trimming, fence building, yard cleanup
BENEFICIARY: This is the home of Mrs. Kathy Toribio, a widow and military family. Kathy has a difficult story to tell so I’ll keep it in the most basic sense to respect Kathy’s request for privacy. She is the sole wage earner in the home that she shares with a disabled daughter and a special needs granddaughter. Kathy does her absolute best to be a mom and grandmother plus run a household. She has yet to ask anything of me because she wants to do all she can and her spirit to be strong for her family is undeniable. The purpose of OLAH, in this case is to roll-up alongside her and complete some of the home maintenance and repairs she’s not been able to have done. Fortunately, we have Kevin from Allied Aluminum doing the rescreening of her patio and a small number of previous volunteers to OLAH events coming out to support her as well so we are excited about this event!
Operation LEND A HAND is a 501c3 organization and hosts community service events in the Northdale and areas nearby. OLAH has been in business since 2018 and has completed many community service events including the Tunnel to Towers foundation by, in 2020, completing the outside of the home of Sergeant First Class (SFC) Anthony Kenworthy. OLAH exists to support the needs of our local neighbors in a needs-based situation and is 100% a not for profit/IRS approved organization.
**** WE STILL NEED 14 MORE VOLUNTEERS ****
Jersey Mikes subs will be served around 11:30 AM for all volunteers.
Hi Everyone! Who is ready for another Community Service Event???
DATE: 17 June 2023
TIME: 0830 Hrs.
LOCATION: 16540 Forestlake Dr (Tampa)
TASK: Laying sod at the front yard. Spreading mulch in the front flower/shrub beds.
BENEFICIARY: This is the home of Tim Dutka. Tim is the Home Depot employee that was responsible for all the customer returns to the store. You might remember that Tim rides around the store in a powerchair as he is one of our special needs team mate! Tim experienced a stroke a few months back and because the stroke left him going through long term recovery, he has not been back on the job. Tim is under 24-hour nurse care because of his situation. Additionally, his mom, (Maureen), is not in her best heath and is disabled requiring assistance as well. And if this wasn't enough challenge for the family, the father, an Army veteran is in memory care and unable to help Tim and Maureen.
Operation LEND A HAND is a 501c3 organization and hosts community service events in the Northdale and areas nearby. OLAH has even worked with the Tunnel to Towers foundation in completing the outside of the home of Sergeant First Class (SFC) Anthony Kenworthy. OLAH will act in a supporting role to Home Depot as this will be a Team Depot program
WE STILL NEED 12 MORE VOLUNTEERS so we can prepare the soul, (grass already died and most of it is gone) so it should be pretty easy to complete. Jersey Mikes subs will be served around 11 AM for all volunteers.
Message me if you can join us! jim@olahinc.org