By Makenzie Atkins
A local nonprofit organization, Home Makers of Hope, works with families and individuals who are struggling with poverty and cannot afford to furnish their homes.
Home Makers of Hope provides for those in need by supplying linens and beds, stocking kitchens and decorating living areas. After picking up furniture and other household items from donors or purchasing items with money donations, volunteers sort and organize it all in the warehouse.
A volunteer will then visit a home to find out what is needed and go back to the warehouse to select items to deliver to the home. Volunteers try to find pieces in the warehouse that represent the family’s style, picking superheroes, dinosaurs or princesses for children in the home.
Once the volunteers get all of the items to the house, the fun begins. The volunteers set up curtains, hang photos and decorate. Most importantly, the volunteers always pray to ask for blessings on the family and the home. The volunteers at Home Makers of Hope live by the verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” (Philippians 4:13).
“Since everyone is 100 percent volunteer, Home Makers of Hope is the perfect ministry to donate to if you want all of the money to go directly towards helping families,” said Pam McMenamy Stamey, founder of Home Makers of Hope.
The organization is always accepting donations but is actively looking for donors to sponsor the purchases of mattresses, blankets and sheets.
Stamey first began helping furnish homes in 2008. Originally being asked to help find more beds for a family of five, Stamey quickly realized the family was in need of more than just beds. One week later, Stamey and some friends were able to collect donations to provide beds, a living room sofa, an entertainment center, a television, a kitchen table and a fully stocked kitchen and bathroom.
Now, Home Makers of Hope has helped furnish over 1,000 homes in need.
For more information, please contact Stamey at pamstamey1@gmail.com or visit the website at www.homemakersofhope.com.
