Here are some pictures we took, before and after, Project Home Sweet Home came in and set up “K’s” new apartment in Marin City.

Living Room – Before

Living Room – After

Her son’s Bedroom – Before

Her Son’s Bedroom – After

The Bathroom – Before

The Bathroom – After

From the August ’11 issue of Reader’s Digest.

Your first job is to decide who exactly you want to serve.  Families, seniors, single adults in recovery, disabled, etc.?  We chose to focus on families with minor children.  With our limited resources (time, money, furniture), we couldn’t serve every category.  It’s hard to say “no” when you want to serve, but you have to draw some boundaries or you cannot be successful.

Meet the caseworkers…

Do some research to identify a local organization that supports the community you want to serve, if you are not already familiar with one.  We ended up networking with about ten different organizations.  Call and make an appointment with a caseworker and the Executive Director if possible.  Explain your mission and how you would like to be an additional resource for their clients.  Trust me, they will be thrilled.  Ask them to identify and refer clients to you per your parameters.

The fax comes in…

We created a “Furniture Request Form” for the caseworkers to use (see the downloadable pdf).  When they identified a family in need of furniture, they would fill out the form and fax it to us.  We would then contact the family and arrange a home visit or “preview.”

The preview…

We discovered that a home visit with the family in need, or a “preview”,  is CRITICAL.  Oftentimes at a preview, we would discover that either: the family needed more than what was listed on the form, but was too shy to ask, or they had already acquired many items on the list between the time they met with the caseworker and when we arrived.  So, the preview allows you to confirm the list of actual furniture needs.

The preview also allows you to see space limitations which is vital when choosing, for example, between bringing a tall, skinny chest of drawers or a long, low dresser.  You can also see what, if any, furniture they already have, or the color of their carpet, in order to try and bring furniture of complimentary color and style (assuming your inventory becomes as large as ours did and you have these choices).

Take note of the access to the apartment too, during your preview.  If there are two flights of stairs or an impossible 90 degree turn to enter an apartment, for example, you’ll want to bring two arm chairs rather than an 8 foot sofa.  These are things we learned the hard way!

The delivery…

This is the most fun part!  Placing a bed in an empty child’s bedroom

First, let us say that we are THRILLED that so many of you are interested in helping others in need within your own communities …    We started this organization as a result of that same desire – to help others in need – and we can think of nothing more satisfying than knowing that our work here in Northern California has resulted in people like you helping others in need across the country.

So, we will begin our blog by explaining a few of the basic requirements for getting started, and we will answer your questions via posts along the way.

In the simplest form, we have viewed Project Home Sweet Home as a business.  Though not for profit, of course, this type of an organization still has many of the same components of a business.  Supply and demand, customers and vendors, distribution/warehouse, marketing/advertising, and so on…

The Ingredients

Donors (supply): The community at large.  Primarily, individuals, but a few business sponsors as well.  For example, we received furniture from two different hotels that were remodeling.

Clients (demand): We focused on recently homeless families that had just regained housing.  We located these families by seeking referrals from local organizations that provide assistance (usually with housing, food, clothing, social services, etc.) to low-income/at-risk families.  Meeting and collaborating with the caseworkers of your local charities that already work with your target clientele is a critical component. We learned that while there were many support services in place, no one dealt with furniture – we had discovered an important niche.

Storage: Initially, we used our garages.  But later, we landed the use of a warehouse, free of charge, from a non-profit organization we partnered with to get our non-profit status.

Delivery method (distribution): Initially, we used our personal SUVs.  But later, we purchased a cargo van which allowed us to be much more efficient and productive.

Advertising (finding furniture): Believe it or not, this is the easiest part!  Donors are thrilled to find a green (recycling) and charitable way to dispose of their used furniture.  We started with word of mouth.   We both had primary school-aged children at the time and when the word spread like wildfire through the school community, we had bunkbeds coming out our ears!  We also made postcards that we handed out everywhere including leaving stacks at nail and hair salons.  You can post notices on church or other community bulletin boards.  We had interior designers and real estate agents refer their clients to us.  We even had a furniture store salesman, who happened to see the signage on our van, refer all his customers to us (when you buy a new sofa, the old one has to go somewhere).  The organizations that refer client families to you will also refer donors to you since they often get calls from the public asking if they accept used furniture (which typically they don’t).

Personnel: A great friend!!!  This, girls, is really the most important part of the “recipe” for success.  You want to collaborate with someone who shares your vision, will be responsible and reliable, is willing to work hard, has enough time to dedicate to your new endeavor, hopefully has a good sense of humor, and is strong enough to pick up one end of a sofa while you get the other.

Once you have these pieces in place, you are ready to move on to developing the process:  forms, agencies, procedures, etc.   Let us know of any questions you may have regarding the above by adding your comments to this blog, and stay tuned for more information on the next steps…  Thanks for reading!!