In synch: Love INC blessed by dual ‘orchestral’ community donation
The volunteer crew from ProVia is hard at work putting together the various parts and pieces of the 50 drawers that were donated to Love INC’s furniture ministry. The blueprints and material for the dressers came courtesy of Jacob & Levi’s.
Most morning people go to their dresser and retrieve apparel to wear for the day without giving it a second thought.
For families struggling with day-to-day expenses, a dresser can be a luxury they simply can’t afford.
Love In the Name of Christ of Greater Holmes County’s furniture ministry is seeking to change those family’s fortunes, and recently, Love INC’s furniture program was given a boost in production capability when two area businesses teamed up to donate 50 new dressers to the program.
For years ProVia’s corporate leadership team has invited all of its employees to take a day and invest in a service project. Over the years they have completed many projects, but this year the committee was struggling to find a project, and Joe Klink, director of corporate relations at ProVia, said he eventually reached out to Vicki Conn, executive director at Love INC.
“We had done a service project to start their freezer food ministry, so I called her and asked her if she had 50 people and a dream of doing anything she could think of, what would it be,” Klink said. “She told me about the furniture ministry they have started, and there is always a need for quality dressers because many of the families can’t afford them, and it sounded interesting.”
Conn said she initially asked Klink if ProVia would be interested in purchasing and assembling dressers from IKEA.
Klink said, “Is that the type of quality you want?”
Conn said no, and Klink told her he’d get back to her.
Having done a ministry in Haiti that involved building an orphanage, ProVia had made many connections with area builders.
He contacted Scott Troyer of Jacob & Levi’s, which designs and manufactures high-quality hospitality furniture from its facility near ProVia. Troyer was immediately eager to get involved and provided the prefabricated material and blueprints to build 50 new dressers.
On May 16 the 50 volunteers from ProVia met in a large warehouse, and under the direction of Troyer’s son, Bryce Troyer, they built the dressers.
Klink said he was worried they wouldn’t get done in one day, and Bryce Troyer said if that happened, his company would finish them at their shop.
That wasn’t necessary because the ProVia team assembled the dressers in 2 1/2 hours.
Klink said it was like an orchestra where every player had a part and came in at different times in the music piece. Each volunteer had his or her own station, and each added to the assembly line process.
“It was as though it was this huge orchestra, and Bryce was the conductor,” Klink said. “He gave directions, and everyone kind of stepped in and played a part, and it was neat to watch it happen.”
Once completed, the dressers were wrapped in plastic and shipped to Love INC’s furniture warehouse, where the dressers will now be distributed to families one by one.
“It was incredible,” Conn said of the assembly-line process. “They had different teams at different stations. Some were building drawers, putting on handles. Some were putting on the tracks or the back and every piece. It was beautiful.”
For Conn, seeing the two companies team up on behalf of Love INC was inspiring. She had trouble even talking about the contribution, fighting through tears.
“They took this idea to the next level, far beyond my wildest dreams, and we can’t be any more thankful for their service,” Conn said. “They were so eager to help, and they made it happen. The thought of all of these people and businesses coming together and filling this need is overwhelming. We’re blessed to live in such a compassionate community, and we’re grateful to both businesses that they understand our mission and feel led to help any way they can.”
While the furniture is a big part of the process in Love INC reaching out to help area families, Conn said just as important is her team’s willingness to sit down and truly hear each family’s story. She said building those relationships with a family who is starting over is where the real blessings flow, and helping them feel more at home by providing furniture like these dressers was gratifying.
Both the ProVia leadership team and the Troyers expressed the same attitude when it came to their role in the day’s events and the process leading up to the big day.
“This isn’t about us as businesses,” Klink said. “Our only hope is that it spotlights the incredible work being done through Love INC and the way they have blessed so many in our community. They are the ones doing the really important work in all of this, and we are grateful and humbled to be a part of their mission to serve.”
Love INC accepts all types of furniture. If anyone would like to donate quality used or new furniture to the Love INC furniture ministry, they can call Love INC at 330-473-6017.