Bulls, Bounce Houses and Big Hearts
Giving back can take all shapes and sizes.
And sometimes it looks like a mechanical bull and a foam pit!
Larry and Tonya Harber own Astro Jump of Atlanta, a Buford-based party rental chain they’ve owned for close to two decades.
Although they’re Buford-based, they didn’t learn about the mission of one of their neighbors, Home of Hope, until a few years ago.
“When I took my daughter to school every day, I drove almost right past their facility. But we had no idea it was there,” Larry explained. “Then we got a phone call about a mechanical bull.”
The organizers of the Sip & Swine BBQ festival, an annual festival that benefits Home of Hope, had a mechanical bull lined up through another company. But at the last minute, the other company was unable to provide the bull. Fortunately, Astro Jump was able to step in.
“While we were there, we got a better understanding of what [Home of Hope] does and who we were actually helping out at Sip & Swine,” Larry said.
“I also met a few of the ladies who work [at Home of Hope]. I told them if I could do anything, they should absolutely reach out.”
And Home of Hope has!
“We’ve brought water slides. We’ve done foam parties with bubbles in the parking lot. In the cooler weather, we’ve done bounce houses. Whenever they’re doing an event, they just give us a ring!” Larry explained.
“Anytime we see a need, we try to fill the gap as best we can.”
As parents themselves, Larry and Tonya know the impact a few hours of fun can have.
“I’m positive that some of our kids’ classmates are at some point experiencing homelessness whether they’re [at Home of Hope] or not,” Tonya said. “We want to bring happiness to kids on days [when a bounce house] might be the only happy thing going on.”
Even though Larry and Tonya don’t get to build relationships with the families staying at Home of Hope, Larry is confident the bounce houses, water slides and foam parties are brightening children’s days.
“We’re making core memories for kids we don’t even know,” he said. “We all forget a lot of stuff as we grow up, but everybody remembers that one time they had a bounce house.”
Larry knows that the children who come to stay at Home of Hope may have missed out on some of the experiences their moms wanted to give them. But through the gift of a bounce house or water slide, he hopes to brighten up a dark season.
“As a parent, you do everything you can to shield your kids from the evil in the world, but sometimes it comes,” he shared.
“We can bring the kids a little bit of relief from the situation they’re in for one afternoon.”
