Furniture Mission Creates Homes

The showroom at Furniture Mission looks like any other store.

And that’s the point.

Couches, chairs and end tables are set up to mimic family living rooms, complete with lamps and rugs. Dining room tables invite families to sit down together. Bedframes and mattresses line a side wall.

Shoppers arrive by appointment every half hour, peruse the offerings and choose what they need – as much or as little as it takes to outfit their home.

“We are serving families that are climbing out of the hole of poverty and serving them the best way we can at no cost to the family,” said CEO Janean Michalov. “It takes a lot for someone to pick up the phone and ask for help. We empower our volunteers to always err on the side of compassion when it comes to who qualifies for our services.”

There are income requirements, but extenuating circumstances also are considered – such as natural disasters or domestic violence. They serve more than 2,000 families per year. They’re referred through various agencies, including the Network of Care as well as local churches, social services, hospitals and the school district.

The experience of picking out household items is meant to provide dignity – with a typical showroom experience and items that have been carefully chosen and restored.

At any given time, the building on Van Eps Avenue is humming – the gritty sound of people sanding tabletops, the smell of fresh paint, the chatter of warehouse volunteers visiting with donors, who pull up to the loading dock constantly during the day. 
Michalov has worked to make Furniture Mission a household name, so people think of them when they have items to donate and when they need items. They take just about anything someone needs to set up a household – from toasters to dishes to end tables and beds. Items must be from homes free of smoke and cats and be free of rips and stains.

But it’s more than furniture in, furniture out.

“I don’t know when someone is hanging on by a thread,” Michalov said. “We think furniture is just furniture. When everyone goes home, they have some. And that’s just not true. A chair is not just a chair.”

She shares a story.

“A donated chair is someone letting go after their dad passes away. It was his chair, with his remote and his book or his Bible that he sat in every night. Someone has to give that to us, to allow us to give it a new memory. Maybe to a mother fleeing domestic violence who needs a way to rock her children to sleep at night. So, it comes full circle, and it’s never ‘just’ a chair.”

The organization has an endowment at the Community Foundation, which helps provide for operating expenses.

"Our endowment may be small today, but it represents something much bigger: a commitment to the future,” Michalov said. “It reminds us that strong organizations don't just plan for the next year. They plan for the next generation. Every endowment has the potential to become transformational when it's nurtured over time."

Patrick Gale, vice president of community investment for the Community Foundation, said the work Furniture Mission does is critical.

“Whatever life circumstances bring someone to Furniture Mission, they’ll leave with a few items that will hopefully make their world a little more comfortable,” Gale said. “That’s a wonderful gift. And we’re grateful that Furniture Mission trusts the Community Foundation to hold its endowment. It’s one more way to help sustain their work for the future.”

Volunteer Charlie Childerston feels a strong sense of purpose. The 85-year-old retired Lincoln High School industrial arts and driver’s education teacher has been volunteering for about 20 years. He started working hauling furniture, then a bit in the office and spent some time dropping off and picking up deliveries. 
Now, you can find him in the huge woodworking shop behind the showroom.

When items come in, volunteers sanitize and inspect them and make sure they’re ready for a new home. That can mean anything from sanding and painting a shelf or table to fashioning brand new legs for a stool, building a table from an old door, or any other creative way to make a piece of furniture work.

Building furniture is how Childerston lives out his faith.

“I’m a born-again Christian, and the Bible tells us we’re supposed to help the poor and take care of them,” Childerston said. “You’ll always have the poor. No matter how good or how bad your country is – you’re always going to have people who have less.”

It’s part of why Furniture Mission accepts so many household items – from curtains to silverware to bedding.

For example, if someone needs pots and pans, they often take them home in a suitcase, so now that family has a suitcase. They also build wooden bedframes for toddler beds in-house. Beds are one of the largest requests, so each family can only take one adult-sized bed. Toddler beds allow Furniture Mission to provide more for each family.

“You’re building a home for someone,” said Makenzie Stensrud, development director. “It’s everything that goes into making a house a home.”