The humble handyman: Home of Hope volunteer and former board member David Ehrhardt reflects on 12 years of service

Every week for the past couple of years, a common sight for Home of Hope’s residents has been a quiet, polite man — tool bag in hand — making small repairs around campus.

Whatever was needed, from changing light bulbs to repairing a broken door to fixing a leaky faucet, David Ehrhardt would make sure it got done.

Through those repairs came memorable interactions for David as inquisitive children would look on as he worked. Often, when he finished a job, they’d call out his name to say goodbye.

“I thought that was pretty cool,” he said. “These are the children we know are so special.”

That’s because these children’s mothers, who also stay at Home of Hope, are developing life skills to live independent, successful and sustainable lives.

What they likely didn’t know is that David did far more than those handyman tasks. 

Since 2014, he has also been a member of Home of Hope’s board of directors. He was part of the team that helped guide the organization from being the state-contracted Gwinnett Children’s Shelter to its current model of serving children and mothers as the private nonprofit Home of Hope.

David initially joined the board because he was looking for a way to get involved in Gwinnett County. A neighbor who served on the board suggested the then-Gwinnett Children’s Shelter.

For David, learning about the mission and the local need for the program challenged his perception that everyone in the county was protected and thriving.

“What I learned is that there is a community out there of mothers and children in a hard situation who need help, who need to be protected, who need to be nurtured,” he said. 

“The children, especially, need to be supported if we’re going to break the cycle, because what we’ve seen in the past is that the longer these mothers and children go homeless, it’s not going to end.”

Along with other board members, David took that message of need — and Home of Hope’s mission — out to other organizations, businesses and individuals in the community to get their support of both time and money. He also oversaw some of the bigger initiatives during Home of Hope’s growth.

“Dave has been such a gift to this board,” Home of Hope’s Executive Director Maureen Kornowa said. “It was just invaluable to have someone of his expertise here to help, and he’s deeply committed to our mission and serving these families.”

Earlier this year, as he entered a new season of life, David decided to step down from the board — a decision that he said didn’t come easily. But he reflects on the past nearly 12 years with deep gratitude for the opportunity.

“I’m very humbled by being exposed to a charity that’s worth a lot;[ Home of Hope is] worth time, money and action to help out a community like Gwinnett County,” he said. 

“My time on the board has been well spent. Every moment that I was on it, I felt very lucky that we have the great staff at Home of Hope. Everyone that I’ve met has been excellent, and the board members have been engaged and thoroughly involved.”

Every action David took, from the small repairs around campus to helping make strategic decisions that guided the organization, was done with the families in mind — being able to see them progress through the program, graduate and now thrive on their own.

“They’ve been able to say thank you in ways that are memorable,” David said. “Several ladies have written some incredible letters telling us their new stories, their new successes and how well their children are doing.

“That’s the pat on the back we get when we are working with the Home of Hope.”