Tara Hall is a group home located in Georgetown, S.C., and it’s for at-risk boys who have been abused, neglected, or are troubled and hope to turn around their lives. It relies on donations of money, supplies and time to keep going after 40 years in operation. That’s where Texas coach Rick Barnes comes into the picture. According to WBTW-TV , Barnes became a godsend to Tara Hall, which was in need of major financial assistance until Barnes’ wife, Candy, read of the group home’s struggle in a magazine while vacationing in the area and told Rick all about it. [Tara Hall executive director Jim] Dumm said Barnes called and within days was on-site at Tara Hall with a contractor friend and plans to re-floor, re-paint, and generally make-over the entire residence hall. It all culminated over Labor Day weekend, when Barnes and other volunteers helped move new furniture into the dorms. “They just really are dedicated to seeing that these boys have a first-rate chance at everything,” said Dumm, who still can’t help but smile on Tara Hall’s fortunes lately. In a quick phone conversation Thursday morning, Barnes told News13 he didn’t want any publicity for the deed, and he and his family were inspired by what Dumm and his staff are doing at Tara Hall. Barnes brought his son to help and to spend time with the youths at the home this summer, and Dumm said Candy Barnes has also come by to spend time. The new furniture inside the residence hall includes new beds for the students and the adult staff, along with new sectional couches and high definition TVs for the lounges. Dumm said Barnes even threw in satellite TV service and separate TVs so the boys could play video games in the lounges and in the rec hall. There are also new pool tables and tables and chairs in the rec hall, new floor coverings throughout, and coats of fresh paint on walls everywhere you look. Quietly, Barnes stepped up to help at a place off the beaten path that desperately needed it. He spent his time and energy, and his family members pitched in as well when no one was looking. That’s a credit to Barnes, who clearly has compassion for young men looking to better themselves, and it doesn’t just end with the basketball team at Texas. From The Sun News : Dumm said new beds were the first thing he asked for when Barnes wanted to know what he could do to help. When Barnes pressed for more, Dumm had a hard time asking. “He said ‘Jim, you’re not asking for enough’ and I said something about not wanting to be greedy and he said ‘Sometimes you just have to get out of the way and let God work,’ said Dumm. “That was the last peep out of me. I let Him work.”

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Rick Barnes pitches in to help group home