Furnished with love: Morris County volunteers deliver all the comforts of home Posted by lmelisur February 23, 2009 13:55PM Joe Epstein/ For The Star- LedgerChris Welch checks off a list of items to be delivered as fellow volunteers Ed Antonucci and Steve Edwards unload the Interfaith Furnishings truck in Morristown. The nonprofit group works with social service agencies and churches to arrange pickups and deliveries of donated furniture. It was Valentine's Day and love was in the air. But instead of chocolates and flowers, the volunteers of Interfaith Furnishings were showing their affection to needy people of Morris County with love seats and couches. On their monthly delivery and pickup day, they met at a warehouse in Randolph with a mission of hooking up some of the county's neediest families with essential furnishings. To bring beds and dressers and tables and chairs to apartments and houses where families were living in virtually bare surroundings. "We go into places where people don't even have beds, have nothing to sleep on," said Mary Jo Welch, who along with Dorrit Edwards, runs the Randolph-based charitable operation. "In one apartment, we found a woman with a pile of clothes on the floor and nothing else. She was sleeping on the clothes. That's not acceptable." Page 1 of 5
Joe Epstein/ For The Star- LedgerStephen Edwards of Randolph screws the top onto a table as volunteers from Interfaith Furnishings deliver furniture to the apartments of people in need in the Morris County area. The 5-year-old group works with social service agencies and local churches to arrange pickups and deliveries of donated furniture. Welch and Edwards seek out "lightly used" furniture for people in need and who are identified by nonprofit groups such as Homeless Solutions and the Interfaith Council for Homeless Families. "We have families trying to re-establish themselves, who are many times starting from scratch," said Patty Sly, executive director of the Jersey Battered Women's Service. "Very often they are just scraping by with enough money to pay the rent," she said. "Trying to equip them with basic furniture can be quite a financial burden." Welch said the creative spark that led to creation of the organization was a conversation several years ago in a discussion group that pondered what good works people could do if they won a million dollars. Some time later, her church, the Catholic Resurrection Parish in Randolph was celebrating its 25th anniversary and searching for a community outreach project in connection with the event. "So I pitched my idea, which was well received," said Welch. "And then I went to all of the other churches in town to find out who might want to participate, and we began." Page 2 of 5
Joe Epstein/ For The Star-LedgerAydee Gonzalez of Morristown reacts upon seeing her new bed, table and chairs. "Now, I have furniture," she said. "It is so beautiful." The first project in 2004 was a collaborative effort with Homeless Solutions, an organization that shelters homeless families and works to increase the supply of affordable housing through construction, renovation and advocacy for low- and moderate-income people. "We needed to furnish 12 apartments back then for families moving out of shelter living and going to their own places," said Tamala Reynolds, volunteer coordinator for Homeless Solutions. "If it hadn't been for them (Interfaith Furnishings) we would have had a tough time getting furnishings for all of these families." Now they are regular partners, Reynolds said. At 9 a.m. last Saturday, while others were making last-minute stops to pick up cards and candy and hearts, volunteers of Interfaith Furnishings gathered to pick up beds and mattresses and dressers. "Let's spread some love," said Welch, as the volunteers made their way to the trucks. The first stop for a crew led by Welch's son, Chris, was the Brookside senior citizens apartment complex in Parsippany. The truck pulled up to the building and Chris Welch was met by a half-dozen volunteers, including regulars Steve Edwards, a lawyer from Randolph, and Glenn Aloisio, a printer from Mine Hill. An anonymous donor was giving them his ailing mom's furniture. "My mom is in hospice. She has heart disease," said the man, who asked not to be identified. "We could have thrown her things away. But I know mom would have liked this a lot better." Page 3 of 5
Joe Epstein/ For The Star-LedgerIan Dodds of Mine Hill, a volunteer with Interfaith Furnishings, loads items onto the truck at the warehouse. The movers delicately scouted out the apartment, trying to be sensitive to the owner's situation. They took a love seat, recliner, dinette table and chairs, a book shelf and file cabinet. "I really thank you," said Chris Welch, shaking the donor's hand and hopping into the truck. Next stop was a delivery to an apartment in Morristown on a referral by the Morris County Organization for Hispanic Affairs. Welch greeted recipient Aydee Gonzalez in Spanish. When she saw the bed and table and chairs that would soon be hers, she said, "Now, I have furniture. It is so beautiful." The volunteer movers entered a studio apartment that was almost empty. There was just a love seat and a television. Gonzalez, a native of Colombia, said she ate and slept on the love seat. It's all she had. "Yes, this is perfect. Beautiful. Thank you so much," she told Welch and friends, as she admired her new furnishings. "Happy Valentine's Day," they responded. Mary Jo Welch said Interfaith Furnishings has submitted paperwork to obtain tax-exempt status. She also said the group also would like to expand its service, if possible, beyond its current reach that is limited to primarily Randolph, Dover, Mine Hill, Wharton, Boonton, Denville and Morristown. The most pressing needs, she said, are for beds, mattresses and dressers. And donors should know their used furnishings can make a real difference to the lives of needy families, said Chris Welch. "At the end of the day," he said, "when you are sleeping in your bed, you know someone else has a bed, too, and that makes you feel really good." Lawrence Ragonese may be reached at lragonese@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910. Page 4 of 5
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