New Life is always in need of more dressers. Almost every household we serve needs one for the same reason few people donate them; dressers are a household staple people often keep for a long time. I can attest to this myself, as I use the very same dresser growing up that my dad used as a kid. Knowing this, former Volunteer Coordinator Laura Stanton jumped on the opportunity when she saw a dresser on the side of the road for taking. Since New Life hasn’t been able to accommodate as many volunteers in the warehouse as we usually would, tasks like furniture repair and painting have been put on hold. Laura knew New Life volunteer Jane Werner would gladly clean up the dresser from home though. The before and after picture says it all. In just a couple days, a well-loved dresser became good as new thanks to Laura and Jane.

We share this story for a few reasons. For starters, we’re always looking for dresser donations. Due to the limited amount we receive, we have to limit most households to one dresser. As you can imagine, this is hardly enough for some families. Second, we want to give an example of how you can volunteer for New Life from the safety of home. A can a paint and a free dresser will become a household treasure for someone transitioning from homelessness. Ask family and friends to redo some furniture too and then use a truck to donate the pieces all in one drop-off appointment. Lastly and most importantly, we want to thank Laura and Jane for their creativity in finding a way to support New Life from home during a time when we’re limited by COVID-19. This is just one of the many reasons we love our New Life community!