MANCHESTER — When she saw a notice in Bedford's Bethany Covenant Church bulletin asking for a volunteer coordinator to renovate a bedroom for the New Life Home for Women and Children in Manchester, Suzanne Rankins thought it seemed like a reasonable project to take on.

New Life Home offers housing, rehabilitation, education and care for women struggling with addiction and their children at its main building on North River Road.

When Rankins inquired about the bedroom in need of renovation, she learned it was in a building New Life owns that is across River Road from the main building. The transitional home is where women who have “graduated” from the initial phase of the program can live with some support.

The bedroom to be decorated and furnished was a former sun porch that had been winterized, but that's all that had been done. It was an empty room.

“It needed some loving care,” said Rankins. Of course, she said, “There was no budget for it.”

She and two other women from the church, Kimberly Buckner and Alice Jenkins, weren't discouraged. In fact, they were thrilled and overwhelmed by the support from Bethany Covenant Church members.

“We went in front of the church in mid-July,” said Rankins. “We said we needed money and furniture.”

People immediately offered both, inviting the trio to check out the furniture offerings.

Top on the furniture list was an armoire that could be used for clothing because there was no closet in the 9-by-15-foot room. The donated furniture was stored in Rankins' garage, where it was cleaned and, if needed, painted.

As for the room itself, Rankins said, “We put a nice yellow on the upper walls.” Below the chair rail, the walls were painted a light blue. “We put up light, sheer curtains,” she said. “A nurturing environment” was the goal.

There's no question it was hard work, she said.

“We were the movers, the painters,” said Rankins, although she acknowledges husbands were pressed into service for heavy lifting.

She marvels at how quickly the project came together and was completed. She said it was just two weeks from when the congregation was asked for help and the room was done and ready for occupancy.

“We finished it last Friday (Aug. 3),” said Rankins, and when she went to church that Sunday, people were still offering items.

For now, she said: “I'm gonna hang tight.”

She said the crash decorating week was supposed to be a week off.

“I put my three kids in camp,” she said, expecting to relax. Instead, she spent the week with Buckner and Jenkins, all of them working. It was all definitely worthwhile, she said. She isn't rushing into another project, she said, but she's happy knowing she can count on fellow church members when help is needed.

dvincent@unionleader.com