On Wednesday, Jan. 18, Frances "Shorty" Dyer entered her new mobile home for the first time. It was a gift from the SouthLake Christian sophomore class, for which they had also raised money to furnish and completely stock with supplies.

Last fall, SouthLake sophomores traveled to Honea Path to assist the Widows' Watchmen Ministry. The grade was divided into smaller groups that each went to different homes where help was needed. They did yard work, cleaned, built decks and wheelchair ramps and did whatever they could to make the widows' lives better.

One group, though, received quite a shock. When they arrived at Dyer's home, they immediately noticed a gaping hole in the wall, rotting floorboards and nearly collapsed roof. After a closer look, they saw that the house had neither air conditioning nor heating, and the sewage was backed up, which affected the health of Dyer and her small dog.

"I have seen condemned houses in better shape," said group leader Preston Springer.

The students did all they could in the three days they were there, including covering the hole in the wall and the one in the roof, but with the house in such bad condition, they could have addressed much more. However, it did give them an opportunity to get to know "Miss Shorty."

"What affected me the most was that she was so happy," said Springer. "She was living her dream, and she was living in a dump."

"She was the sweetest lady," one group member said, summing up the students' feelings. They had made friends with Dyer, and decided there was more they had to do to help in her dire situation.

"We noticed that she had this rocking chair ... literally falling to pieces," said Springer. "And the group asked me if we could get her a new one, and I said, 'Why not?'" The group chipped in for a $115 rocking chair.

Upon returning to SouthLake, the students asked Springer if they could do something more for Dyer. One suggestion was to raise funds for a new home. Springer approached the school's administration to ask if they could begin a fundraiser to buy her a new mobile home. The administration agreed, and the sophomore class wanted the home ready before Christmas. To meet that deadline, the students had yo raise $10,000 by Thanksgiving.

Springer and his group made a video detailing the conditions in which Dyer was living and posted it on YouTube. "After people saw the video, they were touched by her story ... actually seeing her, and seeing what she had to live in, they wanted to help," Springer said.

Students worked hard to raise the money to put the widow in a new house. "Students handed me money they had been saving, babysitting money ... one girl even wrote a letter to everyone in her church asking for a donation," said one SouthLake teacher.

By Christmas, $23,000 had been raised, the new mobile home had been purchased, and plans were being made for the "Elite Eight" — a name Springer gave the original eight students who worked on Dyer's home — to return and see Dyer in her new home.

"What surprised me was how easy it was. You'd think fundraisers would be hard and complicated, but it wasn't," said student Kaelin Fuller.

On Jan. 18, the eight students who first worked on Dyer's home paid a surprise visit to be with her as she saw her new home for the first time.

"She was so much healthier looking," said student Jennifer Corely. "She looked 10 years younger." A few months living with her neighbor while waiting for her new house to be installed had a dramatic improvement on Dyer's health.

A short drive later, she was introduced to her new house.

"She looked so happy and excited," said student Richard Landis.

Added Principal Phil Horton, "She said she was so happy she didn't have to memorize where the holes in the floor were so she wouldn't fall through."

The afternoon was spent organizing the house. The girls went to the grocery store to stock her cabinets.

"She had literally nothing," said Corley. "We had to buy everything!"

The boys began work on a deck that was to be completed earlier this week when the entire sophomore class returned to finally meet "Miss Shorty."

—Leah Wallace is a student at SouthLake Christian Academy.