Mr. Ezra always wanted to use his skills to benefit others. Part of the mission of the ReStores is to provide affordable home goods to the local community at discounted prices. With an extensive background in home renovations and refinish work, Ezra takes that a step further. After Hurricane Katrina, he began to help community members with their homes, using products he bought at the ReStore.
Ezra first became involved with the ReStores as a donor. “I gave a lot of stuff to Habitat,” he said. “I ran a housing agency. We had materials, and if I didn’t have anywhere to store the stuff, I would give it to Habitat. That’s what made me go in and shop.” He quickly became a regular shopper in the ReStore, supporting the mission of affordable housing both by providing materials for the stores and buying them there.
Ezra also likes antiquing and refinishing old furniture, so he put his own twist on all his ReStore finds. He would then deliver them to families still impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
“I’ve refurnished at least 50 or 60 houses in the Ninth Ward with stuff out of [the ReStores],” he said. “I had apartment buildings where I’d buy all the stuff from Habitat. I’d find out what they needed, buy it, refurbish it and let them have it. I would do that for anybody.”