In tiny yet powerful voices, Ella, 5, Emma, 6, and Suheiley, 7, belt out Bruno Mars lyrics as they bound about a small bedroom in their Tampa home.
The girls are excited about beds. They lost theirs in Hurricane Milton last fall.
On Wednesday, March 26, a team of volunteers and staff from Better Together delivered four beds to the family of eight—three of the beds part of a 50-bed donation from ICON Bunks and one of the beds from a City Furniture donation.
“I’m grateful,” their dad, Jesus, says. “It means happiness for us. You see the kids…”
The house is filled with happy chaos. People moving in and out of rooms. Excited voices. The hammering of wood slats. Nearly the whole family is here. Sophia, 10, and Nicole, 13, help wrangle their little sisters. The oldest, 16-year-old Noeli is out.
Mom learned about Better Together through ClassDojo, an electronic bulletin board through the kids’ school. Natalia says she’s grateful Better Together is still helping families after the storms.
“It’s not just the beds,” Natalia says. “It’s the emotional support, too.”
Natalia connected with Better Together for hurricane relief, then learned about the organization’s mentors, who walk alongside families through challenging times. The past few months have certainly been challenging—navigating storm recovery, raising children and teens, looking for work.
Surrounded by pink bedding and little plushies, as Natalia and the girls finish putting sheets on the new beds, mom calls out: “Who’s going to sleep good tonight?”
“Me!” replied a chorus of little voices.
Moments by Kinfay Moroti / Story by Pamela Hayford
