Warehouse Highlight: The Linens
When we talk about our statistics, we often talk about number of households furnished and how many adults and children we've served. We talk about the number of beds we delivered and how many more night's sleep our neighbors are getting in a comfortable space.
What we don't always talk about is that for almost every bed delivered, there's a set of bedding that goes with it. Last year, we delivered 743 beds. 743 beds means 743 fitted sheets, 743 flat sheets, 743 quilts/comforters, and 743 pillow cases. That's a lot of linens that need to be reviewed for quality, washed and dried, folded (no easy task for a fitted sheet!), and matched with other pieces to make a complete, cohesive bedding set.
How the heck do we accomplish all of that??
With our volunteers, of course! But, more specifically, with our Linen Leaders!
At HiH, we're fortunate to have four dedicated and experienced volunteers who lead our linens area: Barb, Deanne, Else, and Mary. These women have been volunteering with us for the past five years. Every week, they tackle a mountain of bedding to ensure that no recipient goes without the essential items for a good night's sleep. Deanne says that one of the most rewarding things about the work they do is 'helping others, extending the life of gently used items, and keeping them out of the landfill.'
Like all small household donations, every bedding piece is taken to our intake table first. Our intake volunteers sort through the items, checking the linens for tears or stains. In the laundry room, each piece gets a final quality check before it's headed to the washer and dryer (also, a special shoutout to our volunteers who take laundry home! This goes a long way in helping our efficiency here at the warehouse).
The next steps in our linens journey are literal steps - the items are taken up the stairs to the second floor (seriously, if you want to get your steps in, talk to these women). Sheets and blankets are measured, folded, placed on the shelves. And then comes the fun part!
With all the items we give, we want to ensure they are good as new. And we want to ensure the items feel like something a recipient might've chosen for themselves.
To make this happen, our Linen Leaders put together cohesive Bed in Bags (BiBs). They match sheet sets with comforters and find homes for rogue pillowcases. The BiBs they make vary in color and theme. This is important because when other volunteers are packing for a family, they have options to choose from that will match the preferences of our recipients.
This time of year, our intake table is swimming and swimming with donations as folks spring clean, move, and graduate. It's not uncommon for blankets and sheets to start piling higher and higher throughout the week. But no matter how full the warehouse is, every week our linen leaders get to work and help ensure that our recipients have a comfortable, safe, and warm place to sleep.
Why do they do it? Mary says, 'Knowing that our hard work provides stability and comfort for families in our community.' Barb says that Houses into Homes is 'such an admirable cause' and that she enjoys 'working with interesting, kind people.'
We're grateful to have a dedicated roster of volunteers who become experts in a particular HiH function, and then work each week to ensure that area of the warehouse is running full speed ahead to keep up with the delivery demand. A huge shoutout and an even bigger THANK YOU to Deanne, Else, Barb, and Mary for all they do!
