Southeast Seminole Heights House Gets 'HIT' by Volunteers

A handful of folks joined forces and gathered on Saturday morning, May 12, to work on a neighbor’s front yard that needed some TLC.

The HIT volunteers trimmed bushes, raked leaves and eradicated weeds at the house of Southeast Seminole Heights Civic Association president Sherry Genovar-Simons.

HIT stands for Home Improvement Team, a Southeast Seminole Heights Civic Association’s grassroots project founded by Maria Garcia-Gutierrez.

The way it works is simple but effective. Neighbors volunteer in two projects before being eligible to have work done at their houses.

“We all get together on a Saturday and work on one person’s home improvement project,” said Garcia-Gutierrez. “If someone needs to be hit, we hit them.”

Started in the early 2000s after Garcia-Gutierrez bought a Southeast Seminole Heights 1925 Craftsman bungalow that needed some work, HIT has been featured in local and national media, such as the New York Times, Popular Mechanics and Green America.

In 2003, the project was recognized nationally when it won the Neighborhoods, USA's "physical revitalization of a neighborhood" award. Also, Neighborhoods, USA recognized Southeast Seminole Heights as the Neighborhood of the Year because of HIT.

Garcia-Gutierrez and other HIT volunteers flew to Chattanooga, TN, to accept the awards and came back with a $3,000 prize for the Southeast Seminole Heights Civic Association. 

"For a starving association, that was a good chunk of money at the time," said Garcia-Gutierrez.

A blue sign that reads "Southeast Seminole Heights , 2003 - USA Neighborhood of the Year” stands like a trophy on Nebraska Avenue just south of Hillsborough Avenue.

Throughout time, volunteers accomplished over 20 home improvement projects, from installing a paver patio and pond in a backyard to painting the interior of a home.

Garcia-Gutierrez said that HIT retired for three years in the wake of the economy crises of 2008.

“People just didn’t have money to do it,” said Garcia-Gutierrez, “when you are having a HIT project done at your house, your neighbors provide the manpower but you have to buy the materials, and you provide breakfast, lunch and plenty of cold beverages to keep the HIT volunteers from falling over from dehydration.”

But HIT has slowly started hitting again. Saturday’s project was the first of 2012.

“We’ve became a stronger community because of (HIT),” said Garcia-Gutierrez. “The neighbors I met doing this, we formed friendships, and it goes beyond the HIT team. Anytime we need anything done, I know there are people here I can count on to offer me a hand if I need it.”

When she decided to jump start HIT again in 2011, Garcia-Gutierrez opened the project  to the neighboring communities of South Seminole Heights, Hampton Terrace and Old Seminole Heights.

“Not that it was ever closed to them, but I actually put it out to them,” she said. “We had some people from Old Seminole Heights and South Seminole Heights join in, so not only we are forging friendships here within our Southeast Seminole Heights neighborhood, but we are branching out to all of our Greater Seminole Heights neighborhoods.”

David Correia of South Seminole Heights volunteered in a HIT project for the first time last Saturday.

“I was up for the adventure,” he said. “I love doing volunteer work, love meeting people in the neighborhood, and do outside work.”

Do you have a project that needs to be hit or just want to hit a project? Contact Garcia-Guiterrez at 2dgdesignstudio@tampabay.rr.com.

.