Giving It Forward
When we asked Shannon Long why she volunteers so much of her time to local nonprofits in her community, she told us "I give back to my community because when I, unfortunately, stumbled upon some hard times many years ago, my community helped me get back on my feet. I always like to give it forward because you never know when you might need a little help in life." Volunteers like Shannon are the key to enabling The Philadelphia Furniture Bank to serve hundreds of individuals and families each year.
We recently received a generous donation of 1,700 dressers from IKEA that needed to be put together before they could go out to homes. "It is during times like this that we depend on our volunteers and corporate sponsors for partnership," said Assistant Director Howard Pinder. The Furniture Bank sent out a call for some help with the dressers, and right on cue, Shannon and her team from WEBUYANYCAR.com came out and spent a team day of service working on putting together the IKEA dressers. Of the experience, Howard shared "our volunteers bring so much energy and life into the Furniture Bank. Getting the chance to see them recognize the impact of the work we do is significant. I recently explained to one group that most clients who come to see us are storing their personal belongings in trash bags and sleeping on the floor."
Following the volunteer day of service, Shannon provided this feedback: "I thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering at the Furniture Bank. I enjoyed doing the work and getting a tour of the facility. Everyone was genuine and you could tell they enjoy working with the Furniture Bank and making a difference. What I enjoyed most was being able to see a few clients go shopping for their furniture package. I love that they can pick out items that are their style to feel comfortable."
Everyone here at the Pathways to Housing PA is grateful for volunteers like Shannon and the team from WEBUYANYCAR.com. While we love that Shannon told us that she's no longer afraid of assembling IKEA pieces, we especially love that the group felt the experience was worthwhile and they will be back again. We welcome their continued support, along with other groups (big and small) who can help ensure that individuals and families exiting homelessness are not sleeping on the floor.
Want to help? Find out more about volunteering at the Philadelphia Furniture Bank.
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