New house for Southview student with disabilities to be celebrated Friday

Valerie Taylor, shown in September at the groundbreaking for the new home, will have her new home shown off on Friday. THE BLADE Enlarge | Buy This Photo

A Reveal Celebration is set for 3:30 Friday for a new house for a Southview High School student who has multiple disabilities.

The redone home for Valerie Taylor, was done by the Professional Remodeler Organization of Toledo and Southview students.

The ceremony will be at the Taylor residence at 3347 Cason Ave.

The new house was needed because of the difficulty Valerie has had maneuvering with her 400-pound wheelchair. She has multiple disabilities, including spastic quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and glaucoma. She is 16 and a sophomore.

The ceremony comes after several months of planning and fund-raising. Her living situation was brought to the attention of PRO by a group of students at Southview after they raised $32,000 through their ninth annual Dance 4 A Chance. PRO, with support of almost 100 local businesses, razed the original house, and constructed a new 1553-square foot home for Valerie, Veronica and Tom Taylor. It replaced a 540-square foot house.

The new home features a great room for more family time, a bedroom for Val with a wet bathroom, and a room for Val’s parents. The total value for Project HAVEN exceeds $150,000, which includes temporary housing.

David Rumpf, PRO President, said, “This year’s President’s Project will have a lasting impact, not only on Val and her parents, but within the students and teachers at Sylvania Southview, and for this I am so excited to be able to lead this important build with the support of the PRO Membership and the community at large.”

The Reveal Celebration will kick off with the Southview band. Tours will be provided of the new home.

For more information about this project, go to www.propresidentsproject.com.