In 2003, Decorating Interiors Volunteers At your Service, was formed, Cummins said.

The organization not only reforms the living spaces of disadvantaged families, it provide the furnishings.

"We want to help people build a nice nest," she said. "Everyone needs a pleasant place to come home to."

Cummins, 46, believes everyone wants a sense of pride in their home. And, if families have a nice place to meet, maybe they will spend more time together.

"Our reward is the reactions on the family members' faces," she said. "Life's been hard for them. They've been beaten down. Our work appeals to their human side and helps enhance their self-esteem."

Cummins, who resides in the Tower Oaks subdivision in northwest Houston, said she got the idea for the organization while she served on the board of a battered women's shelter.

The organization, Footsteps in the Sand, was located in Houston and is now defunct. It was a nonprofit housing project where battered women could reside, she said.

Cummins led a group of around 40 people to fix up the living rooms of all 14 of the duplexes in the project.

Each team, which consisted of from one to five people, chose a home and made over the living room with a budget of $500, she said.

Items and finances were donated by businesses, churches and individual members of the community.

The effort was so gratifying, the organization wanted to do more, so it started to do the interiors of houses, she said.

The group decided to transform one house at a time. To date, the decorating organization has redone 32 houses, Cummins said.

Group members come from across Houston, but a large number reside in Tower Oaks, she said.

"We really enjoy being together while we fix up the homes."

Social service agencies nominate the families the decorating organization assists.

These agencies include groups such as Habitat for Humanity, the Fort Bend County Women's Shelter and the Veterans Administration, she said.

"We give them a hand up, not a hand out," Cummins said. "They're helping themselves, but they still need some more help."

When a family is nominated, Cummins and her helpers visit the home and measure the rooms and windows. The family members are interviewed to find out what kind of decorating style they prefer, she said.

Then the transformation begins.

The family will be asked to leave the home for approximately 24 hours.

When they return home, Cummins said the expressions on their faces range from surprise to elation.

"It's not just the response of the adults that's so rewarding, but the joy and pride that show in the faces of the children," Cummins said.

Even though the organization is making over entire houses, they still keep the budget at $500.

The group gets items from thrift shops, garage sales and retailers. The latter have donated resources such as paint, lamps and window hardware, Cummins said.

The decorators also work with The Furniture Bank, which is located near the Texas Medical Center in downtown Houston. The nonprofit organization collects and distributes "gently used furniture" free of charge, said Oli Mohammed, executive director.

Mohammed said he loves the things Cummins and her group have accomplished.

Cummins gets whatever furniture she needs from The Furniture Bank and, over time, replaces the items.

"Ann is one of the most outstanding human beings I've ever met in my life," he said. "She's caring and compassionate."

Susan Glass, who worked with the organization on its first project, said she lives a block away from Cummins.

"Ann loves helping others," Glass said. "She's one of the most giving people I've ever met."

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Thu 02/16/2006
Section: ThisWeek
Page: 6
Edition: 2 STAR

Next month, the Bards - formed more than seven decades ago as sort of an Everyman's club - will become the first New Orleans krewe to stage tandem Mardi Gras parades in their hometown and in the green, purple and gold-festooned streets of Galveston.

Scheduled to roll at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 24, the Bards' parade, featuring as many as eight colorful floats, will be among opening events of the second weekend of Galveston's 22nd annual Mardi Gras bash. Last year, an estimated 300,000 revelers turned out for the island city's pre-Lenten party.

" `Always doing the unusual as usual,' " said Bards captain Tommy Blache. "That's our motto."

A Florida-born respiratory therapist turned professional magician turned Mardi Gras leader, Blache, 45, is the fourth captain in the Bards' 74-year history.

"People may think that we're running away from New Orleans," Blache said. "But we're not running away from anything. We've been working on bringing a parade to Galveston for three years. Our theme was `Bringing New Orleans to Galveston.' "

Although the Krewe of Rex sold fragments of its 19th century parades for later use in other cities, Blache contended his group will be the first to march both in New Orleans and another city during Mardi Gras celebrations.

"Mardi Gras gets into your blood," Blache said. "You have to have a passion for it."

For Blache, who is working with Houston attorney and longtime Galveston Mardi Gras parader Tom Luksetich to bring the Bards to Galveston, the final blowout before the austerity of Lent long has been a passion.

"People come into my house and it's - `Wow! It's all green, purple and gold,' " he said.

Blache, a Houston resident who never has lived in New Orleans, became active in the Bards at a friend's invitation about 16 years ago. His long-distance participation required multiple monthly trips to New Orleans throughout the year.

But with the death of its longtime captain, New Orleans lawyer Larry "Cadillac" Smith, the Bards faced an uncertain future, Blache said.

"I just couldn't stand to see 70 years of tradition go out the door. ... It's an old-line krewe. I didn't want to see it wither away. But a lot of those old krewes have bitten the dust," he said. "I knew that if we were inactive more than two years we'd lose our right to parade."

With the support of remaining members, Blache five years ago formally assumed control of the krewe and began putting into place a series of reforms. While never as exclusive as Rex, Comus and the other groups with 19th century roots, Bards of Bohemia - founded by a Canal Street dentist for his fellow professionals and merchants - still closely scrutinized candidates for membership.

"In New Orleans, you'd gain membership by knowing someone who already was a member," Blache said. "I tended to bend the rules."

Blache opened the krewe to anyone who paid the $350 annual membership fee.

"It made things more interesting," he said. "When you rode down the street, maybe the guy next to you would be a plumber or an electrician.

"The first year, I made my mom and dad the queen and king of the parade. That really choked me up. It was a phoenix rising from the ashes. The parade really made a comeback."

Although the Bards long had been a child-friendly organization - the krewe created roles for children in its annual ball shortly after its founding - Blache increased the presence of youngsters in its activities.

"In New Orleans, we have a court that goes all the way from princesses to maids and junior maids," Blache said. "All the court goes to the ball. They're just like my kids."

The nonprofit group also supported orphanages and other child-oriented charities, he said.

The Bards' rebirth has not been without challenges.

Last year, an accident involving a disabled Bards float injured 17 people when a tree branch struck the top of the vehicle.

Later, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and crippled plans for February's Mardi Gras celebration. But, although the extent of its participation is yet to be determined, the Bards' New Orleans branch plans to parade in the city's shortened, eight-day revelry.

"We're short on members, real short," Blache said. "I had 11 staying at my home after Katrina. We don't know who's going to show up."

"Or attend," Luksetich added. "We may be throwing beads to one person."

The Bards' New Orleans faction will team up with another krewe for this year's parade.

Katrina blasted plans for the krewe's Galveston appearance as well.

Prior to the storm, Luksetich, who long had paraded with other New Orleans and Galveston krewes, and Blache had lined up corporate sponsors. (Unlike its New Orleans parade, the Galveston parade will be funded by sponsors, whose employees may ride on floats.)

Now, with many of those companies' charitable coffers drained by Katrina, the Bards are struggling to rebuild support.

"We are caught in a no-man's land," Blache said. "We're taking a lot of heartburn medicine and biting our nails. We're throwing caution to the wind. Anybody who wants to do something in the parade, who wants to be a part of the parade, is welcome."

Funds raised through the parade will be donated to The Furniture Bank, a charitable organization that provides furniture to the needy.

Roughly 1,500 households were provided with emergency furniture in the months after Katrina and Rita, said executive director Oli Mohammed.

Blache and Luksetich are members of the group's board of directors.

"There's more to Mardi Gras than throwing beads," Blache said. "In some sense, we may be down and out, but we have our tradition. It may not be exactly the same, but everybody is getting together and helping. We're trying to help every way we know how.

"The spirit is still there."

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Mon 01/09/2006
Section: A
Page: 1
Edition: 3 STAR

"When somebody says the Food Bank, everybody's aware of it," said Steve Gombar of the Furniture Bank's board of directors. "But awareness for the Furniture Bank is below the radar."

Gombar hopes to make the Bank more visible with a series of fund-raisers this fall. Last Tuesday, the group hosted its second annual Screamworld night. With tickets at $10 per person, Gombar counted on doubling last year's take to $10,000.

"It's a fun event," he said. "You can bring the family and have a good time. Jason Bell and Jason Simmons of the Houston Texans came out last year. It's a great haunted house, and it's not gory."

The Furniture Bank operates on $300,000 annually, which supports seven employees, two trucks and a warehouse that needs a new roof and plumbing repairs.

"It's not an expensive type of proposition," Gombar said, but with 50 organizations asking for help "it puts a strain on the Furniture Bank. We're giving away all our services for free. We rely on the community for everything, from donations to cash."

He's also looking for a third truck to keep pace with furniture collections.

The Furniture Bank began 12 years ago as part of the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Association, and became an independent agency in 2003. It has assisted more than 30,000 families in rebuilding their lives, and that's the part that Gombar finds so uplifting.

"Without someone having a livable environment, there's a much stronger chance that they would go back out on the streets, or not be able to function on their job. It can be hard. If they go into an environment and have some comforts ... If you don't even have a spoon to eat with, a spoon is a welcome item," Gombar said.

Bedding is a big demand at the Furniture Bank, Gombar noted. City-wide, some 10,000 children sleep on the floor every night. And children in protective custody cannot be reunited with their families until they have beds to sleep in.

The organization is working with the Houston Fire Department to collect and distribute cribs.

There are several bright spots in the Furniture Bank's search for partners.

Citgo is moving its corporate headquarters to Houston, and it's donating its Tulsa office furniture to the Furniture Bank.

"They're a new large business, and they found us as a charity," Gombar said.

The local chapter of the International Interior Design Association refurbished six of the Furniture Bank's classic 1950s items for its Arts and Artifacts affair last Friday. Auction proceeds will be returned to the bank.

Radio station KTBZ-FM is co-sponsoring the Big Texas Hold 'Em poker series with the Furniture Bank. Anyone over 21 can register on the radio station's Web site at www.thebuzz.com to win 200 seats that will be awarded weekly. The tournament runs for three weeks, said Gombar, and the grand prize is a place at the world championship tournament in Las Vegas.

"A lot of charities will have big galas," Gombar said. "We want to try and make events that are accessible to the community. There's a lot more need out there than we can service."

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Thu 10/21/2004
Section: ThisWeek
Page: 1
Edition: 2 STAR

Was their faded color once a vibrant red? Or maybe a dusty peach? Where were they all these years, and what trials and tribulations left them in such shabby shape?

No matter. They have been reborn. And at the right price they could be yours.

The chairs and others refurbished by members of the International Interior Design Association will be auctioned off Friday during the IIDA's "Art & Artifacts" event benefiting the Houston Furniture Bank, which supplies furniture and support to struggling families.

The event begins at 6 p.m. at the Sam Houston Hotel, 1117 Prairie. Tickets are $40 at the door.

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Thu 10/14/2004
Section: Star
Page: 1
Edition: 2 STAR

The bank provides the furniture at no cost to qualified recipients. Trucks to pick up items are underwritten by Hoffer Furniture, Cort Furniture Rental and Finger Furniture.

To arrange a pickup, call 713-842-9771.

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Sat 04/17/2004
Section: Houston
Page: 6
Edition: 2 STAR

Furniture Bank executive director Oli Mohammed said the Meadows grant, along with other funds raised since February, "moves us closer to our board's goal of achieving the status of an independent nonprofit." The grant assures continued operation through 2004.

Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County sponsored the Furniture Bank until February, when budget cuts forced it to reduce financial support. MHMRA continued to provide utilities, maintenance and insurance for the Furniture Bank's donated building at 6300 Bowling Green.

"We are the last step in the rehabilitation process for MHMRA (and other agencies such as Children's Protective Services and Star of Hope). After they find people a place to live, we give them furniture and other household items they need," Mohammed said. "We help about 1,000 families a year through 42 member agencies."

Furniture donations are plentiful and always welcome, but a small staff limits the requests for help that can be handled. The Furniture Bank's annual operating expenses total $400,000, so fund-raising efforts are ongoing.

Friday, in addition to the first grant, a matching grant for $50,000 in 2004 was offered by the Meadows Foundation, established in 1948 by Algur H. and Virginia Meadows.

For information, access www.fb-houston.org or call 713-876-7245.

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Mon 07/21/2003
Section: Houston
Page: 12
Edition: 3 STAR

Because of budget reductions, Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County, which has sponsored the Furniture Bank for a decade, had set Friday as the deadline for the organization either to raise $75,000 in operating funds or close its doors. Staff cuts, financial support by concerned citizens and pledges from several organizations will help the nonprofit program operate for another six months.

After the Furniture Bank's plight was reported on several local television stations and in the Feb. 11 Houston Chronicle, checks in amounts ranging from $5 to $5,000 began arriving in the mail, according to general manager Oli Mohammed. Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian oil drilling company with offices in Houston, donated $10,000.

By the Friday's deadline, checks totaling nearly $25,970 were deposited. Cort Furniture Rental issued a $25,000 guarantee and is sponsoring a fund-raising event May 8 with Houston Apartment Association, Sentenel Systems Inc. and MoveforFree.com. The show of community support convinced MHMRA to continue its sponsorship until September, Mohammed said.

The Furniture Bank, 6300 Bowling Green, works with 42 social service agencies to provide donated furniture and household items free to the needy. Fund-raising efforts to meet the annual budget of $415,000 are continuing, as are plans to establish the Furniture Bank as a separate nonprofit agency.

For information, access www.fb-houston.org or call 713-876-7245.

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Sat 03/21/2003
Section: Houston
Page: 7
Edition: 2 STAR