Thanks to the generous support of Coca-Cola Beverages Florida LLC (Coke Florida), Maria De Lourdes Perrotta’s longtime dream of stability and independence became a reality today.
Recently, Habitat for Humanity of Tampa Bay Hillsborough hosted a dedication ceremony to celebrate Maria and her son, Matias Perrotta, 24, receiving the keys to their new Tampa home.
“The dream: to have an affordable house,” said Maria, joined by family, volunteers who helped build her new home, community partners and Habitat for Humanity of Tampa Bay Hillsborough leaders — all there to wish her well.
A key financial supporter of the Perrotta home is Coke Florida, a family-owned business serving Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami and Orlando. The company is one of the largest minority-owned businesses in the state and is committed to strengthening the communities it calls home. Coke Florida employees also volunteered more than 200 hours to help build the new house.
“As we celebrated our company’s 10-year anniversary at the end of May, Coke Florida is proud to also celebrate our long-standing relationships with community partners such as Habitat for Humanity of Tampa Bay Hillsborough,” said Percy L. Wells II, group vice president of government relations, public affairs and communications for Coke Florida. “We are proud to provide financial support, create economic empowerment opportunities for new homeowners and encourage our associates to support these impactful initiatives.”
Maria’s struggle to find affordable housing is one familiar to millions of Americans. Working as a housekeeper, she spent years renting apartments that were often plagued by mold, noise and ongoing rent hikes — “places that we know will never be our home,” she said.
All that changed on August 20 for Maria and her son.
“Home is where I feel secure, with peace and love,” said Maria. “Having our home means we are finally in a stable place.”
Habitat for Humanity homes are not given away — new homeowners like Maria put in hundreds of hours helping build Habitat houses, assisting at Habitat events and working in the Habitat ReStore home improvement store. They pay an affordable mortgage that never exceeds 30 percent of their income.
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