Looking to Volunteer? Visit the County Center Friday

“What the ‘free furniture’ means to me is that I can start over without going into debt and still be able to feed my family,” reads one thank you letter.

And, “Without your help my girls would still be sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags…” states another.

In one short document, there are excerpts from just 10 of the numerous thank you letters sent to Furniture Sharehouse, a Larchmont-based non-profit that offers free furniture to those in need. There are more than 30 others on their website. 

And Kate Bialo, who founded the organization and serves as its executive director, tells one story in particular. 

Mount Vernon United Tenants, one of the agencies that pairs their clients with Furniture Sharehouse, conducts “eviction prevention services.” While helping a client, the agency discovered that furniture rental — let alone purchase — was one of the biggest burdens on the family’s budget. The Furniture Sharehouse provided free furniture to the family from their warehouse at Westchester County Airport and in turn, the family could remain in their home, Bialo explains.

Interested in helping organizations like Furniture Sharehouse continue its mission? Then Friday is your chance to find out how.

The non-profit, along with 120 others from around the county, will be on hand at the County Center in White Plains for “Serve and Learn: Westchester Remembers 9/11” an event sponsored by the County and The Volunteer Center of United Way.

“This is really the kick-off of how Westchester County is going to join in a national movement to make 9/11 and the days immediately proceeding it a call to do good service,” says Alisa Kesten, the executive director of The Volunteer Center of United Way.

Beginning with an opening ceremony at 1:30 p.m., the event will feature opportunities to both “serve” at the County Center on Friday and to “learn” more about ways to volunteer in the future, according to Kesten.

During the event itself, Kesten says there will be “a volunteer opportunity going on virtually every hour.” These will range from giving blood to painting a mural for an environmental organization to creating name puzzles for a head-start program, she says.

Attendees can “learn” by meeting with representatives from area non-profits such as the Yonkers Department of Veteran Services, the Emelin Theatre and the New Rochelle Humane Society, among others, to see how they can help.

“There’s not a single non-profit that doesn’t have a board of directors—those people are volunteers. [Non-profits] utilize folks for special events or to help with strategic planning or help in the office. Those ongoing needs are important and critical,” says Kesten.

At Furniture Sharehouse, for example, Bialo explains that volunteers can act as shopping assistants to help clients choose furniture, work at one of their six yearly furniture drives or help with a number of “behind the scenes” positions. 

And if you can’t find what you’re looking for at the event, representatives from The Volunteer Center can help you surf through an online database of opportunities to find something that fits.

Patch will also be on hand at the event to collect memories of both the day and the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Each Patch site has a dedicated space that lets local charities and volunteers find each other. We also have a program called “Give 5,” through which we donate free advertising space to charitable organizations and contribute our own time as volunteers.

The Volunteer Center sponsored a similar but smaller scale event in 2009 and many of the non-profits that participated expressed interest in doing it again, according to Kesten. And with 9/11 as a national day of service and remembrance, she says, “…It seemed to us a really great time to bring together the non-profits with community members so that everyone could find the right opportunities.” 

And it’s a tradition they hope to carry on. “The Volunteer Center will continue to utilize the national day of service and remembrance to create a community-wide call to action each year after this,” says Kesten.

And attendees can help further that commitment. According to Kesten, the organization is in the running for a grant that would be put exclusively towards next year’s 9/11 tribute event. With the final decision based on the number of volunteers, Kesten encourages all attendees to bring a canned good—each item counts as an act of volunteerism, she says.

“Serve and Learn” runs from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and admission is free. Online registration for volunteer opportunities is open until 5 p.m. Thursday and can be done here. While some may be full, Kesten assures that others will still be open day-of, such as the food drive. For more information, click here.