TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa woman who has called the University Area home for over 50 years is getting a life-changing home makeover thanks to community volunteers.
Darlene Staunko, 80, discovered she had COPD and emphysema about two years ago. When people came to help remove all the carpet from her home — something that had to be done for her health — they left behind flooring tacks and exposed her original linoleum flooring, which was over 50 years old.
The cost to completely redo her floor would have been over $11,000.
"About two years ago, I found out I had COPD and emphysema, and people came over and took out all the carpet because they said that that was something that had to be done," Staunko said.
When she found out the University Area CDC would cover the flooring replacement, paint her fence, and clean up around her yard as part of their 14th annual Paint the Town event, her reaction was pure joy.
"Oh my goodness, it was like Christmas. It just, well, right now I'm getting all jittery from it. It's just amazing that they're doing it," Staunko said.
The University Area CDC visited 17 properties on Saturday, picking up trash and painting homes — all for free to support the community.
Rob Zimprich, CFO and interim CEO for UACDC, said this work goes beyond just a job.
"It's priceless, you know, here's a community resident. This is her home. This is where she wants to be, and rather than move out of this community, which is a very transient community to start with," Zimprich said. "It's just great to keep a community resident here that has so much history in this neighborhood."
For Staunko, the new vinyl flooring will allow her to stay in the neighborhood she's called home for decades.
"It's something that you can't thank enough for. I can say thank you, but there's not, that's not a good enough word," Staunko said.
When the crews finish Staunko's living room, the entire flooring in her home will have been replaced, helping her get back to a normal, healthy life and showing how much the community supports each other.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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