Furniture
thing to have to shovel snow off one’s walkway to a house or snowplow a driveway to get out of the house, but imagine a truly unforeseen complication with the season: snowfall ruining the 17 sofas in one’s driveway.
A weird scenario, indeed, but something that Barbara and Ira Smith had to deal with in the 30 years since founding Household Goods.
Since 1990, the nonprofit organization has been collecting, inspecting and donating furniture and other household items to those in need. The organization started outside of the Smith household in Acton. Barbara Smith recalls one instance where she and Ira had to drape tarp over 17 sofas they had collected in their carport for donations to protect them from snowfall. Thankfully, the organization soon moved to its own facility at 530 Main St.
“It was mostly a case of us helping people,” Barbara Smith said. “The people who’ve donated are very generous and wealthy and have really bought into our philosophy that every client should be treated with respect.”
Household Goods started with the Smiths extending that respect to a new resident. In the winter of 1990, Barbara Smith was asked by her local pastor to help a woman who had just moved to town from turmoil in San Salvador, El Salvador, and couldn’t afford to furnish her home. Barbara Smith put a notice in the church’s bulletin asking for donations of furniture and eventually had an overflow of donated pieces, so much so that the Acton Housing Authority spread the word to the rest of the community that might be in need of assistance.
“People were very, very generous, and this just took on a life of its own,” Barbara Smith said. “Pretty soon, we had sofas and dressers and refrigerators and washing machines. It started as just a person who needed help, and it was a logical and easy thing to do.”
“Thank God we had a large carport,” Ira Smith added.
Fortunately, Household Goods continued to grow over the years. Not only did they move operations out of their home after 10 years, but the number of volunteer staff also increased substantially. One of them is Harriet Crew, another Acton resident who has been volunteering with Household Goods for 2K years but has known about the organization since its formation. Crew has helped in almost every aspect of the organization’s work, from inspecting the donated furniture to monitoring voicemails and emails offering recyclable items.
“The most outstanding part of Household Goods is the respect toward clients,” she said. “I don’t think there’s any judgment to people who need help, they just need help.”
While this year should have been full of celebration for reaching 30 years of service, it unfortunately was dampened by the coronavirus pandemic. Household Goods was not immune from virus-related concerns, especially since their work involves contact with previously used furniture and delivering it to other people.
Sharon Martens, executive director of Household Goods, said volunteers at the organization’s facility suddenly had to follow social-distancing protocols while inspecting items. On top of that, the number of volunteers at the facility had to be limited, donations had to be done by appointment only, and donated items had to be quarantined for three days before being delivered to those in need.
“The most difficult part of all that was the social distancing,” Martens said. “At the center, the volunteers would take breaks together and chat. Now the mask-wearing and being 6 feet apart has been the hardest part for them.”
COVID-19 has prevented clients from entering the facility to look at available items, but Household Goods has adjusted. The organization has been offering clients a virtual tour of the facility via Zoom so they can pick out what furniture they want, with the limited number of volunteers still able to move things into clients’ modes of transportation.
“The good news is that in the spring and summer, people were home and cleaned out their houses so the number of items donated was very high,” Crew said. “For the volunteers, I think Household Goods is doing an amazing job and I feel very safe. I’m very cautious, but totally comfortable with everyone wearing masks and social distancing.”
Despite all the hurdles caused by the pandemic,
Household Goods has still been able to reach out to those in need this year. One of them is Scott Childress, 52, of Lowell, who was referred to the organization in August from an independent-living organization after completing treatment at Place of Promise. He was able to participate in a virtual tour of the Household Goods facility and pick out the furniture he needed.
“I had nothing, and they were so efficient and friendly and accommodating,” Childress said. “They just showered me with care and support. The general feeling was that the volunteers loved what they were doing and they did it with heart and compassion. All of their help really eased my mind so I could focus on my recovery.”
This year, like the prior 29, has shown the Smiths that they’re not the only ones who believe in reaching out for help to give back to others.
“It’s been very difficult to manage 2020, but the quality of the staff and the board of directors is wonderful,” Barbara Smith said. “The staff is outstanding. Nothing daunts them, and they create a solution for everything.”