Volunteer Profile • Lena Bowman
After leaving the corporate sector, Lena Bowman wanted to fill some of
her time with volunteer work and to give back to the community. Around
the same time, she was looking to donate some furniture she was no
longer using and a friend told her about Furniture Bank. During her
drop-off, she was offered a short tour so she could learn about the
organization and the impact her furniture would make.
Lena was so impressed with the staff, and Furniture Bank’s model, that
she asked if the organization needed volunteers. Six years later, Lena
still looks forward to her weekly volunteer shift in Client Services.
When asked about her most memorable moment with a client, Lena shared
the following experience:
“A few years ago, I was helping a 60-year-old woman who had been
homeless for about five years. When we walked around choosing pieces
for her new apartment, she kept asking me, “Can I have that?”. “Yes of
course,” was the answer every time. She was so overwhelmed that she
could have everything she asked for (within the limits of Furniture
Bank’s guidelines). She cried and hugged me, and told me that no one
had ever said “Yes” to her before. All she had known or could recall
was “No”. It touched me that, for someone her age, such a simple word
was truly life-changing. Those moments are what volunteering here is
all about.”
We couldn’t agree more, Lena.
If you’d like to share your time and talent with us, please drop us a
line at getinvolved@furniturebank.org
