Joel EngelhardtCarol Beresford founded Hannah’s Home first in Cleveland before adding a second home in Tequesta; it’s now expanding.
When Carol Beresford told a local Cleveland newspaper 30 years ago she would build a house for homeless pregnant girls, she realized she had committed to a vision.
“If I don’t do this now,” she explained, “I’m going to give God a bad name.”
When she moved to Jupiter more than 20 years ago, she extended that vision to a home in Tequesta.
Hannah’s Home, named for the woman in the Bible who promised to dedicate her son to God if she were able to have children, has helped 100 moms since opening in a $550,000 house in 2012. Its expansion campaign has raised $1 million to add two cottages with four beds that will open soon on its 2.9-acre site.
Last week, the charity on County Line Road received $330,000 in contributions from a single car-studded event at the private Jupiter auto museum of developer Nick Mastroianni II.
The centerpiece: Mastroianni, the developer of Jupiter’s Harbourside, donated a cyber gray metallic 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, which sold at the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Auction on Saturday for $110,000.
“They’re helping children who are having children, which I think is a very important cause,” said Mastroianni, who is on the Hannah’s Home board.
Babe Rizzuto, daughter of the founder of Conair — the late Leandro Rizzuto — sponsored the appearance of country singer Chris Lane, who performed for an hour.
Preparing for life
The faith-based Hannah’s Home works to equip young mothers, ages 18 to 30, with the skills they need to support themselves after they move out.
The mothers are encouraged to find career-oriented employment beyond a job at a retailer or fast-food restaurant.
They’re asked to save $350 a month as it is anticipated they will need $50,000 a year to live on their own. One woman amassed $10,000 in savings before graduating from the program, Executive Director Karen Hilo said.
It’s not always a matter of urging the woman to study harder or buckle down, Hilo said.
What they find is many of the women grew up in homes where parents did not value an education. Some didn’t have computer access or even enough to eat.
“The truth is they’ve gotten short shrift,” said Hilo, who has been director for two years.
Beresford praised her board, which helped her pay off the mortgage on the home and agreed in 2022 to expand. She singled out Mastroianni, who joined the board in November.
In an industrial park near Interstate 95 in Jupiter, Mastroianni and his family have amassed a gleaming array of hand-picked cars, while creating an inviting space for charity fundraisers.
Classic Chevys and sporty Corvettes, their engines gleaming beneath open hoods, mixed with more sports cars, jeeps, a Volkswagen bus and even a restored fire truck. Visitors could walk among the vehicles and pose for photos.
Joel is a founder, reporter and editor at Stet News. His award-winning newspaper career spanned more than 40 years, including 28 years at The Palm Beach Post, which he left in 2020. Joel lives with his wife in Palm Beach Gardens. He volunteers on the board of NAMI Palm Beach County and the Palm Beach Gardens Historical Society.
