One of the early observations I made after I joined Family Promise of Monmouth County was that families moved into empty or sparsely furnished apartments when they left our shelter – sometimes sleeping and eating on the floor for several weeks or months. I wondered if they ever felt that they were coming “home” at the end of a long day, or if the children were able to perform at school if they weren’t able to get a decent night’s sleep.
Everyone deserves to feel proud of the place they live, to invite friends or family over to share the joy of a new home, and to have a safe place in which to raise their family.
The Hope for Children Foundation provides us with funding as a result of their generous fundraising gala held in November of each year. In 2007, our staff decided to take a chance on a new idea and utilized a portion of the foundation money to create a donation and storage program.
It’s easy to participate in this program. Area residents who wish to donate gently used home furnishings simply call our office, and several times a year we partner with Econo-Line movers in Wall Township to pick up those items. The furniture is placed into storage and every graduating FP family who moves into an apartment is given the opportunity to “shop” in our storage facility. The day they move, each family moves into a furnished apartment complete with beds, tables, dressers, refrigerators, and other necessities. The staff and I install window blinds or curtains and all the small touches to make it a true homecoming for a family.
We thank the Hope for Children Foundation for generously supporting this and many other programs for us, and invite all residents of Monmouth County to call us with donations of furniture.
Tags: donation and storage, Econo-Line Movers, Family Promise of Monmouth County, Hope for Children Foundation
