Our OOF recipient for the months March 2023-June 2023 is the HomeStart Foundation that furnishes homes to help families in need rebuild their lives.
The Refugee Team suggested HomeStart as an OOF recipient. A few months ago, George from the Refugee team, visited the HomeStart warehouse and selected furniture for our recent Burundian refugee. This included dressers, shelving, kitchen table+chairs, end tables, lamps, sofa, and armchairs – a complete apartment excluding beds which we are required to supply new. Homestart delivered all of this to the apartment on the same day at no cost to us. This saved the refugee team hundreds of dollars and much time, eliminating a major worry!
Homestart could also benefit the UCV congregation by providing our members with an economical means for down-sizers to donate unwanted furniture. Homestart charges donors a reasonable $75 to have 2 people come to a location in their serving area and pickup donated items which are taken to their warehouse for re-distribution to those in need. They accept pre-arranged drop-offs at no charge to donors. Refugee team members are often approached by UCV members who offer donations of furniture which we can’t accept.