Provide beds for 300 kids sleeping on the floor

I'm reflecting this morning on how meaningful our work is, and how grateful I am for each of our donors and your role in helping the Warehouse be better each day.

I was in Tualatin yesterday morning and was impressed by the full Warehouse, our rock-star crew of staff and volunteers, and the beautiful store. When I returned to the Portland Warehouse in the afternoon, I heard cheers from the office area – we had just received a big grant from the Maybelle Clark Macdonald Trust. 

Not long after, our Program Coordinator Cristian asked me to come out into the Warehouse to meet a family. I took the photo (below) just as the garage door was closing at the end of a full day.

This mom and her family of 7 fled from California to remove themselves from the violence they were experiencing in their city. After being homeless for over a year, they were so grateful to have furnishings. You could see the peace and ease in her eyes. The young boy, although shy, explained to me how they were "going home" to "set up all their new things."

Goodness knows we face challenges every day – an unexpected rainstorm ruined our hiking plans, your computer won't turn on (GAH), my computer crashed (GAH #2), your car broke (whaaaat??), we had to turn down a frustrated donor, you have ants in the kitchen (EGAD!), or perhaps we served a really challenging family at the Warehouse...

And at the same time, on the other side of every road bump, there is a person or family whose life has become exponentially better because of this work. I wanted to send this note to hold a little extra space for our successes, even the seemingly little ones. Serendipitously, I stumbled across this quote this morning:

"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yes.

Happy autumn, everyone – and thank you for supporting your local furniture bank.

Rena