Activism - Past, Present & Future

[jenny]

Originally Posted by Stearns

Any kind of activism at all, Jenny. That's really something that you, your dad and his friends actually formed a charity. I know you don't do it for admiration or accolades, but please allow me to say that I think what you're doing is wonderful. For people to give of themselves like this is really awesome.

Thanks for your kind words. Personally, I think that most people have the ability to do something -- and the desire as well. Unfortunately, there's a lot of people out there who simply don't know how to get started, or where their particular talents could be utilized.

For my dad and me, the idea for our organization kind of fell in our laps. I was perusing FreeCycle one day, and found a post by a woman who needed furniture for herself and her two kids. To make a long story short, I had a few things I was looking to pass on, as did my dad, so I contacted this woman and found that she and her kids had escaped an abusive husband/father, and were living in a friend's basement, with no furniture at all. One thing led to another, and we ended up furnishing their whole "apartment" with things donated by members of my dad's church.

Prior to that day, we'd never really considered this sort of need before, but once we thought about it, it was glaringly obvious that there were likely tons of people in this woman's shoes. We contacted a local social service agency, and found that while they provide housing for people coming through the system, they don't provide furniture or housewares, so there are an awful lot of people living in apartments with no beds, no dishes, no pots and pans, no sofas...

Anyway, I think most charities start as a way to fill a need, and that's certainly how it worked for us. We had no idea it would become, in just a few short years, a six day a week venture, but here we are -- as we like to say, doing well by doing good.