GREENFIELD — After a hiatus, Love INC is bringing back a service that helps those in need access donated furniture with the help of a local church — but more help from the community is needed to continue the work.
Karla Whisenand, executive director of Love INC, said the organization discontinued its furniture ministry several months ago after losing access to the storage space it had been using. Volunteers who had been assisting with the service also had to take a step back; Whisenand said volunteers can “age out” of the physically demanding work.
Whisenand said Love INC has been referring people in need of furniture items to Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and similar outlets, but many still have trouble finding the items they need.
After a search for a church that would be willing to take up the difficult task of collecting and distributing donated furniture, Love INC has found one in Faith Baptist Church in Greenfield.
Larry Hof, the pastor at Faith Baptist, learned about the need for a church partner to help take over the furniture ministry. After talking it over with members of his congregation, they decided to step up.
“The church is supposed to be God’s hands and feet. This is the opportunity that God has given us to be the love,” Hof said.
Faith Baptist volunteers have been picking up donated furniture and distributing it to families in need, but the church lacks the storage space to grow the project at the moment.
A donation of either a barn that could be used to house furniture or a donation of the approximately $6,000 needed to construct a new one on Faith Baptist property would make the ministry viable in the long term, Hof said.
“I see a great potential for this ministry, but we’re about to hit a stagnation,” he said.
Whisenand said Love INC is still looking for other partners on the project. Ideally, she said, there would be a church in every corner of the county that could participate in the work.
Whisenand said finding high-quality furniture that can be donated to families in need can be difficult, but it is a request the organization frequently receives, especially for mattresses that are in good condition.
“There is a huge need for it in the county,” Whisenand said.
Love INC’s furniture ministry limits donations to three items a year for each family, and recipients must have been living at a permanent address for at least three months and be current on their rent.
Anyone interested in volunteering with or making a donation to Faith Baptist for the furniture ministry can contact Hof at (317) 371-7213. Those looking to donate a furniture item or who is in need of furniture may contact Love INC at (317) 468-6300.