On Thursday, Oct. 3, You Thrive Florida’s House to Home Program held its Annual Golf Tournament. While the competition had previously been played at various courses around the county, this year’s iteration was hosted by Cabot Citrus Farms on the newest golf course in Hernando County – the Roost.
The construction is so new, in fact, that it was only just completed on October 1 – a mere two days before House to Home’s fundraising tournament. House to Home Director Richard Sanvenero and company are the first group to ever tee off at the links situated in northern Hernando County. “We’re very happy with that,” he noted.
Thursday’s competition is not just for fun, it is for a good cause. The proceeds from the event aid the House to Home program, which “is developed for the low-income and moderate-income people who are on the cusp of first-time homeownership build an affordable house, and then we sell it to them, basically,” Sanvenero
said.
This is the second such fundraiser the group holds every year. The other – a “Men’s Bake” – is in the spring. The turnout for this fall’s golf tournament was larger than last year’s, with 96 players teeing off and 15 volunteers. Sanvenero attributes the expanded roster of participants to the exclusivity of the club.
The nearly 100-person pool was comprised of 24 teams of 4. These groups represented non-profits and businesses from as far away as Tampa. Some of the names that traveled far or pitched in include the Home Foundation (Event Sponsor), Bagels and Beyond (donated nine dozen bagels), Betty Marie’s Catering (breakfast burritos), and Power Design (from St. Petersburg).
“It is the whole community that supports us, and we’re thankful for it,” the director said. The local community supports them, and they support the community. For Sanvenero’s crew, it is all about helping people become homeowners for the first time in their lives and ultimately breaking the cycle of poverty.
“We’re appreciative of everybody in this county because we’re able to put people in a house for the first time and to see their face when you give them the keys. We help create generational wealth by them having a home. If they have children, statistic-wise, a stable home or just any home that they don’t have to keep moving around, that child will go on to a higher educational level and usually will break the bonds of poverty. So, it’s a win-win-win.”
House to Home also has a very secure process for determining which individuals qualify for their housing program. In addition to conducting a criminal background check on any housing hopeful, they build exclusively for Hernando County residents. To satisfy this requirement, the person must have lived or worked in the county for at least 12 months.
Sanvenero is happy with everyone who has passed approval, and many of the prospective property owners are equally grateful, if not more so. That is what it is all about. Anne, a member of the House to Home team, recounted the reaction of a new homebuyer to their approval during Thursday’s tournament.
“It’s very satisfying because you’re changing people’s lives,” said Anne. “I talked to a girl this week that started the process, and she was crying as soon as I called her and told her that we were going to have her start the process and start working towards her own home. She had so much stress in her life that she’s just amazingly grateful […] It just makes every day worthwhile.”
