Project Change

Sleepyhead Beds

Sleepyhead Beds Mattress Drive

 

Team Pulse Design Group, Consisting of Pulse Design Group, Modern Business Interiors, and Malone Finkle Eckhardt & Collins, had a mattress drive on January 28th, 2012, from 9 am to 12 noon for Sleepyhead Beds. The turnout was fantastic!

 

Sleepyhead Beds is a non-profit organization serving the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area. They distribute gently-used beds and bedding to one of the 5,000 area children who go to sleep every night without a bed of their own.

 

Through word of mouth, Craig’s List, Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, and a live feed the morning of the event from Lisa Benson with NBC Action News, we were able to collect the following: nine twin bed sets (18 pieces), four twin box springs, four full sets (8 pieces) one queen set (two pieces) and over 160 pieces of bedding. We also received close to $100 in cash donations. It is estimated that over 100 children will feel the effect of this drive.

 

Calls and inquiries continue to come in from our event. Recently, one of our team members was wearing a Sleepyhead Beds T-Shirt at the gym and someone asked how to donate.

 

Giving a child a clean and comfortable place to sleep will let that child grow for years to come! The Butterfly Effect.

SafeHome Restoration

On Saturday, March 24, 2012 our team joined forces with SAFEHOME to provide yard clean up and gutter cleaning services for two of the transitional living homes for the organization.  Thirty-one (yes, I said 31) lawn bags later, you were hard pressed to find a leaf in the yard and the gutters looked brand new and the portion of fence that was falling down was repaired!  Check out some of our pictures!  We even found a mascot for the day!

A big thank you to Susan and Kathy at SAFEHOME for coordinating our work day.  We were told this was the first time that a Project Change associated team had been to a transitional living home and helped out like we did.  SAFEHOME's clients are responsible for taking care of the home's interior, however the agency provides exterior maintenance for them.  Volunteers are always needed and welcome to help with yard maintenance, and "flipping" the houses for new tenants (paint, cleaning, etc).   

There were many things that our team saw, or experienced just from the outside, that made us have more compassion for what SAFEHOME's clients have gone through.  Whether it was the children's toys we uncovered in the yard or learning about one of the houses being recently vacated quickly because an abuser had discovered the home's whereabouts.

To contact SAFEHOME's abuse hotline, please call 913-262-2826. 

SAFEHOME Restoration

WJE Architects Challenge 1: Create Change Without Change at Habitat ReStore

You don’t always need money to make good things happen, and the group at WJE architects proved the point by using their time, strength, and hardware know-how (all free!) at Habitat ReStore. In case you didn’t know, Habitat ReStore is a place that collects donated construction material and resells it to the public. Money made from the sales goes toward building new houses for those that need them the most. It’s a win-win situation.

 

So why go to Habitat ReStore and create change without change? Because dollar bills aren’t going to install windows into frames so they can sell; Gold coins can’t wrap these blinds so they can be put out into the show room.

 

Money is great, but the power of giving the gift of your time to create change and help others should never be underestimated.  How does volunteering at Habitat ReStore create change? A home is a place where families meet and share with one another. By putting the money they make toward building homes for those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford one, Habitat ReStore is creating a stronger community and healthier families. Without volunteers, this would never be possible.

 

Creating change without change at Habitat ReStore was a small project that made a big difference. Building a home is the same way. The project starts with small pieces, and ends with a place those that are less fortunate can call home.

 

While the project was small, the effort was not. During the four hours that the WJE group was at Habitat ReStore, they did $6,167.20 worth of work, with $4,000 contributed from the framing of windows, $1,000 from the repair of valves, $500 from the wrapping of blinds, and $667.20 in other labor. That’s just over $1500 an hour! With those numbers, it’s easy to see how a group can come together and create change without using money.

*Free* Craigslist Pick-Up

Craigslist is a website that connects locals with different needs.  There’s also a section for people that are giving stuff away for FREE!  WJE’s team looked at this section for two weeks asking for items to be held for local charities until we could come and pick them up.  What we received blew us AWAY!  So on Saturday, March 12th, our team, with some extra volunteer help, went all over the KC Metro area and picked up these items along with other donations from family and friends.  Seven truckloads, a full U-Haul, and four hours later, most of the items were delivered to Operation Breakthrough’s warehouse where they will be used to re-furnish apartments for homeless moms and kids.  We were also able to pick up items for their daycare and after school programs, like toys and cereal along with LOTS of kids clothes.  Some items, like a coffee table and a queen bed went out to families as soon as we got it unloaded! 

 

 

Our list of picked up items includes: Men’s jeans for the VA Hospital, a copier/faxer for Crosslines (a charity who helps those less fortunate break the cycle of poverty), and for Operation Breakthrough:

 

2 Couches

Loveseat

3 Microwaves

Full Size Mattress Set & Bed

Twin size bed

Box of Kitchen Items

Bag of Bedding

Queen Size Box Mattress

1 small bag kitchen pans

1 wooden desk chair

Exterior Christmas lighted figures

child-proof wooden gate

1 wooden CD stand

nursing pump equipment

Barbie car ('55 Chevy 455 with dual exhaust, whitewalls...just kidding--no dual exhaust)

18" black twisted iron candle holder

6 dining room chairs

3 desk chairs

1 changing table

2  coffee tables

4 T.V.s

VCR

2 printers

Baseball Bean bag chair

2 large trash bags of baskets

5 large trash bags of stuffed animals

2 trash bags children’s toys/games

Small box of Baby bottles

Small bag of underwear and socks

Diaper trash can

1 box of books/CDs/arts & craft materials

1 trash bag misc household goods (mugs, candles, etc)

Basket of Travel Sized Toiletry Items

12 place settings of dishes

Full size Bed Frame

Toddler’s Bed w/ Mattress

2 Side Chairs

2 Trash Bags of sheets and Towels

Bags of Toddler Toys

Desk

Copier/Faxer/Scanner w/ additional toner cartridges

Side Table

Refrigerator

 5 bags of kids clothes & shoes

1 bag adult clothes

1 large tote decor and miscellaneous items

1 large tote kids toys and miscellaneous items

1 big box toys

1/2 set of dishes

10 boxes cereal

2 Misc. boxes of kitchen utensils and dishes

Rectangle Glass Table

Round Glass Table w/ Lazy Susan

TV stand w/ Glass Shelves

2-drawer file cabinet

2 bar stools

Oak Sofa Table

Many Framed Pictures

Curio-Cabinet

 

Plus - some stuff we probably forgot to write down!!!!  Thank you to all who donated items!!!!

Diaper Drive

Sadly, many parents don’t have the money to purchase diapers for their kids.  They also can’t use their government assistance to purchase them.  This leads to many parents potty training their kids too soon which can lead to behavioral problems.   Team WJE decided to create hope and a better future for these kids by collecting diapers.  We ran into problems however, when stores wouldn’t let us stand outside their doors and ask for donations.  So we got creative and used the rest of our team funds, along with some extra fund raising, to purchase much needed items for the families and kids of Operation Breakthrough. 

 

On shopping day, after many odd looks at our caravan of over-loaded carts, we purchased almost $475 worth of items!  This purchased 10 boxes of diapers, 2 boxes full of baby wipes, 12 bottles of baby wash and lotion, 7 packages of much needed toilet paper, 11 packages of kids underwear, 6 packages of socks, and 9 pairs of boys pants.  These were all items in high demand at Operation Breakthrough, because, once again, families can’t purchase with their assistance coupons.  Operation Breakthrough was thrilled and VERY appreciative.  They couldn’t stop saying how much this would mean to their families and to help the kids into their future.