“I’m getting furniture today? That’s the best Mother’s Day present ever!”
–Sharon, furniture client
UPCOMING DONATION DRIVE
Each month, Simple Needs GA receives texts, emails and phone calls just like the one above. We cannot help everyone who contacts us, but these days we are able to help more clients than ever thanks to your generous donations of time, money and new and gently used items. Our clients are supported by an awesome community of people who care.
Let’s keep the momentum going. Our next monthly Donation Drive is Sat., May 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at our Marietta warehouse. We are in need of gently used or new microwaves or vacuums. Also, toasters and other kitchen items.
If you can’t make it on May 19, don’t forget that we have added a Donation Drive (same time and location) on the first Saturday of every month as well. Next month that first-Saturday drive will be on June 2, followed by the regular third-Saturday drive on June 16. Mark your calendars!
Right now we’re very low on some much-needed items for our clients (gently used items, please; no stains or damage.). These include:
- drinking glasses and dish sets
- full/queen/twin mattresses, box springs, beds/frames
- small- to medium-sized dining tables (or card tables) and chair sets (or just tables or just chairs)
- dressers and chests of drawers
- cable-ready TVs (not too heavy) as well as TV stands
- nightstands and coffee tables
- small household items (see list of needed items for details)
- new brooms and mops
- DVD players
- diapers, size 4
- irons and ironing boards
For a full list of needed items, please click here. Specific needs for our My Birthday Matters program (very recently updated!) are posted on our SignUpGenius.
Email brenda@simpleneedsga.org if you have anything to donate at this time. For large furniture, please email photos; we will arrange for you to drop off or for us to pick up (in Cobb County). Thank you for your support!
STILL LOOKING FOR A NEW FURNITURE-STORAGE SPACE
We recently lost the 1,300-sq.-ft. space we were using to store furniture for our Simple Household Needs program. Last month, our patient and dedicated volunteers moved everything into commercial storage. The arrangement will work for now, but we cannot afford to pay such high rents over the long term. If we can’t find replacement space at below-market rents, we will have to scale back Simple Household Needs, at least when it comes to large furniture and beds.
If you happen to know of any possible alternative storage options in or around the city of Marietta, please let us know! The space needs to be big enough to store mattresses and furniture and should have enough access to accommodate box trucks. The key is that we’ll need to pay below-market rent.
The furniture is incredibly important for our clients. They are often sleeping on air mattresses that SNGA loans to them until they receive beds. It’s also not unusual for them to have no kitchen tables, sofas or chairs in their homes.
If you have any ideas on a replacement space, please email brenda@simpleneedsga.org.
Also, we wrote a press release about this situation to get the word out. If you’d like to download the PDF and share it with others, you’ll find it here.
BEST. OPEN HOUSE. EVER!
On April 28, we had our most successful open house yet, with a steady stream of nearly 74 adults and 12 youth. The group included volunteers, board members, clients and guests stopping by our Marietta warehouse to chat, munch on donuts or Zaxby’s and talk about our mission and momentum.
Special thanks go to founding SNGA board member Melanie Booker for her leadership and hard work in organizing the event, and also to the terrific volunteers who helped us out as well. They not only answered newcomers’ questions and gave tours during the open house, but many of the volunteers also did a tremendous amount of cleaning, organizing and straightening (sometimes hiding things, too!) to get our typically chaotic warehouse space looking ship-shape prior to the event. (We’ll have to spend part of our next volunteer day un-hiding things!)
It was particularly heartwarming to see three of our clients, as well as their kids, stop by the warehouse to tell visitors about how much Simple Needs GA means to them. We hope to see you at our next one!
HELPING KIDS IN MARIETTA CITY SCHOOLS
SNGA’s programs help children and families across Cobb County, including in the 8,900-student Marietta City Schools (MCS) system, where about 350 kids are considered homeless. We recently sat down to interview two awesome people—MCS’s Ana Mateo and Brenda Espinoza—who work specifically with homeless children in the Marietta City Schools system.
Ana and Brenda told us all about the need they encounter on a daily basis. We hope you’ll take some time to read the blog post hereto learn more about what they and SNGA are doing to help MSC kids.
BIG THANKS TO HARRY NORMAN!
The Cobb Marietta Harry Norman office surprised and delighted us on May 5 by holding a yard sale specifically to benefit Simple Needs GA. More than two dozen real estate agents and their families donated children’s toys, baby equipment, house wares, furniture, sports equipment, lamps and more for the sale, which the office promoted via social media, newspaper ads and yard signs. It was held in the office’s parking lot at 776 Whitlock Ave NW.
The event raised about $1,000 for SNGA, said Carson Wernz, the Harry Norman Realtor who nominated us to be the beneficiary of the event. “In the past, we have worked with MUST Ministries, Make A Wish Foundation, CURE Childhood Cancer, as well as smaller local charities,” he said. “We’re looking forward to presenting the check to Simple Needs GA at our upcoming sales meeting.”
The Cobb Marietta Harry Norman office has been in its present location for more than 30 years and employs nearly 70 agents. For more information, visit their website here.
SHOUT OUT TO THE EPSTEIN SCHOOL!
Thanks so much to volunteers from the Epstein Schoolfor tackling a host of tasks on Feb. 24 at our Marietta warehouse. Twenty-four people from the Sandy Springs school, which serves students from 18 months old to the eight grade, made Comfort Kits for people experiencing homelessness, moved heavy items to help us reorganize the space, and did lots of sorting during the volunteer day.
“Volunteering with Simple Needs GA was a fantastic experience—everyone in the family could participate from child to adult to senior,” said volunteer Jennifer M. Meyerowitz. “Not only did we feel great about putting together such useful and helpful bags for deserving people in shelters, we also enjoyed working together as a team, learning about the organization’s needs, and fulfilling a much-needed task. Everyone felt that their contributions were useful and very much appreciated.”
They certainly were! Thanks so much to these great volunteers for all their help!
Thanks so much for your support of people in need!
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Donate online here. Donations can be sent to Simple Needs GA, Inc., P.O. Box 670265, Marietta, GA 30066.
To volunteer as an individual, company, church or other organization, contact us at info@simpleneedsga.org. Visit our volunteer page for more info.
smile.amazon.com is a great way to support SNGA. Just sign up for the program and choose Simple Needs GA from the list. After that, AmazonSmile will donate to SNGA each time you make a purchase! Just remember to go to the smile.amazon.com portal before you do your shopping!
Check out how you can support us in similar fashion by signing up for Kroger Community Rewards!
Simple Needs GA 