‘Tis the season to give thanks. Today we want to highlight the work of our wonderful network of volunteers, donors, and supporters. In the past month we have had many generous hands come together to create an overflowing cup, so to speak.
A few weeks ago, we got a call from Lee Jeter, the ED at the Fuller Center for Housing. He’d been donated two 18-wheelers full of IKEA cabinets/ wardrobes for the Fuller Center’s Surplus Store from the Food Bank, who was unable to use that many pieces. The Fuller Center’s store also couldn’t use such a generous amount, so Lee gave us a call to see if we’d be interested in some of the furniture. We were delighted to receive such a blessing.
To be on the safe side, on the 5th of November we picked up one for a trial-run assembly before picking up the multiple pieces. On the same day, we got one of the wardrobes to the Nest, we also had a pair of brand new volunteers- a husband and wife team. The wife is a quilt maker whose friends and family already have a beloved collection of her homemade creations. She brought us the remaining bundle of quilts with a promise of more! The husband is a tinkerer and jumped at the chance to put our new IKEA piece together, especially once the donation drop-offs started rolling in and Ryan was overwhelmed with furniture! He even offered to continue volunteering to get them all assembled! At the end of that day, one of our regular donors came to drop off her haul of brand new cleaning and household items, including bundles of brand new velvet hangers and foldable cube storage bins that fit perfectly in the new cabinet!!
We were ecstatic imagining our clients with a brand new cabinet filled with their hanging clothes, a cube for their belongings, and a handmade folded quilt tucked onto one of the shelves. Here at the Nest, we call that a God Wink.
Obviously, we had to tell Lee Jeter that we were very interested in the cabinets and immediately arranged to pick them up on Second Saturday. We had a great team of volunteers that Saturday, some seasoned, some new, and a few we hadn’t seen in a while (thanks 2020). So much got done! The cabinets were picked up, unloaded, and put on shelves, a ton of packing got done, some sorting, cleaning, and the Nest got a little Christmas flair as well.
This month also saw the death of our washing machine (RIP). However, once the word got out, our volunteers and donors raised enough for us to have a new one delivered today (Nov 19th)!! A special thank you goes out to our supporters at Ivan Smith who found us a washing machine that was exactly what we needed and within the budget!
As you can tell, things are happening here at the Nest! Come join us.
Be part of the next big story.