Just days before students returned to class, Eustis Heights Elementary School became home to a newly renovated support center designed to help students and families facing homelessness or financial hardship.

About 8 percent of Eustis Heights students are identified as experiencing homelessness, while roughly 80 percent qualify as low income, according to Lake County Schools. School leaders hope the new space will help remove everyday barriers to learning by providing families with food, hygiene products, clothing and school supplies in a welcoming environment.

The project is part of the Addition Financial Foundation’s Renovate to Educate program, which partnered with Seminole State College’s Interior Design Program to redesign five school resource centers across Central Florida this year. Volunteers and design students spent the summer painting, assembling furniture, decorating the room and stocking shelves with everyday essentials.

“We started out nine years ago as a teacher classroom competition,” says Cristina Lehman, executive director of the Addition Financial Foundation. “We were challenged to change it because we felt there could be a greater impact if we focused on children and families who could use support in their everyday lives.”

Cristina says every student deserves the opportunity to learn, grow and reach their full potential without worrying about being hungry or going without basic necessities such as toiletries, school supplies and clothing. She says the goal is to create a welcoming space where families can choose what they need with dignity.

Five interior design students from Seminole State College were each assigned to one of the five schools, working alongside Addition Financial to transform the resource centers.

“They interviewed with the principal, measured the room and gained hands-on, real-world experience working within a budget,” says Dr. Holly Rodwick, professor and program manager of the Interior Design Program at Seminole State College. “After presenting their designs to the Addition Financial board, they spend the summer bringing the space to life for students who will eventually benefit from it.”

Dr. Rodwick says the project gives students practical experience while showing them how thoughtful design can make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families.

Unlike a traditional supply closet, the room was designed to feel welcoming and comfortable, giving students and families a place to access everyday necessities in a setting that preserves dignity.

Dr. Venessa King, principal of Eustis Heights Elementary, says she was amazed by the care and attention that went into transforming the space.

“We are a school with an 80 percent poverty rate, and because of that, sometimes they just need a little extra help,” Dr. King says. “So we’re really excited to provide that for them right here at school.”

Community volunteers will continue to support the project by returning each week to replenish the shelves with food, hygiene products and other essentials.

“They usually volunteer at least 100 hours per week,” Dr. King says. “They’ll come every week and help restock this area for kids with food bags, toilet paper, toothpaste and whatever else they need.”

Dr. King says she hopes families see the room as more than a place to pick up supplies. She says it can also be used simply to have a conversation with the on-site family liaison or one of the counselors.

“Because they already have relationships with their teachers and everybody else, coming down here to get something is just part of their day,” she says. “They can always spend time here and know they’re supported.”