Restoring Dignity #16

Saturday, June 6th, 2015

“Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend orphans, plead for the widow.”

(Isaiah 1:16b)

*************BEFORE & AFTER VIDEO IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE*************

Their Story

Five years ago, a Karenni family of eight was resettled to the United States, after living in a refugee camp in Thailand. Forced to flee from their home country of Burma due to an ensuing civil war, they waited for years to be placed in a country where they could begin a new life. Finally, their opportunity came and they were sent to Idaho, where their sixth child was born. Two years later, they moved to Omaha, Nebraska in pursuit of employment opportunities. Unfortunately, they were unable to move any of their household items with them, so for the past three years, they have been living out of suitcases. The struggles of adapting to a new life in this foreign country, as a large family, has made it difficult for them to obtain many household staples. Items like dressers, beds, dishes, and towels have been hard for them to come by. Yet they persist with great tenacity and courage. The 21 year old daughter is committed to bettering her and her family’s life, and so she works the overnight shift at her job and attends college during the day. The 19 year old daughter, who has been blind since birth, is working on applying for United States citizenship. However, she needs small things, like a CD player to listen to the citizenship tapes so she can pass the exam, and a desk and computer chair so she can use her braille typewriter. We found out about this family’s needs and the challenges they have experienced, and we want to help improve their quality of life. Please join us in bringing them the items they need to flourish as they build a new life here in America.

The Pictures

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The Solution

We are taking action on Saturday, June 6th, 2015 from 10am-6pm, to provide this family with much needed household, cleaning and organizational items. Come join us to bring hope, encouragement, and blessings to them!

Supplies Needed

Please sign-up for items you will donate on our sign-up page.

Kitchen

• White paint for the kitchen
• Paint brushes
• Stove turner for the stove
• Rice cooker
• Kitchen towels
• Wall calendar
• Cooking utensils
• Clock
• Silverware
• Cups
• Plates
• Wash rags
• Kitchen rug
• Broom w/ dust pan
• Large plastic air-tight container
• Plastic storage bags (quart size bags, freezer gallon bags, sandwich bags)
• Garbage bags
• Saran wrap
• Aluminum foil
• Cutting board
• Mop
• Mop bucket
• Drawer and cupboard liners
• Bulletin board
• Tupperware
• Shelving (any kind)

Bathroom

• Towels (full, hand, and face)
• Over-the-toilet storage
• (8) toothbrushes
• Toothbrush holder
• Toothpaste
• Toilet paper
• Hand soap
• Shampoo (adult and kids)
• Lotion
• Bath rug
• Shower curtain & liner
• (8) loofahs
• (8) bathroom shower caddies
• Shower head organizer or shower organizer
• (6) Deodorant
• Toilet brush
• Feminine pads

Hallway

• Shelving/Bookshelf
• Tall garbage can

Bedrooms

• (3) (6) twin mattresses,preferably new, but gently used also accepted
• (4) twin box springs
• (1) (4) twin bed frames
• (1) full mattress, preferably new, but gently used also accepted
• (1) full box spring
• (1) full bed frame
• (1) bunk bed frame
• (6) twin size plastic zippered plastic bed bug proof mattress protectors
• (1) full size plastic zippered bed bug proof mattress protector
• (16) new pillows ($3 at Target or Walmart)
• (5) dressers
• (300) Plastic hangers
• (3) Hanging shoe racks
• (3) computer/homework desk
• (3) computer chairs
• Pictures for the rooms/decorations
• (16) pillow cases
• (6) twin sheets
• (1) full sheets
• (6) twin bed spreads
• (1) full bed spread
• New underwear: All members of the family (dad & 15 y/o boy: men’s small, mom & 21 & 19 y/o girls: women’s small, 11 y/o boy: boy’s large, 9 y/o girl: girl’s medium, 4 y/o girl: 4T)
• New socks: All members of the family
• (2) floor lamps
• (3) bookshelves
• School supplies (papers, crayons, pencils, colored pencils, markers, notebooks, etc.)
• Children’s bike (for the 9 y/o girl)
• (4) mirrors
• Computer
• (3) small nightstands

Living Room

• Dining room tables with chairs
• TV stand
• DVD player
• Couch
• Shoe rack
• Decorations (pictures, figurines, picture frames)
• (1) Book shelf
• (1) paper organizer (for bills)
• (1) picture album
• Small shop-vac
• Light bulbs
• Picture frames

Cleaning Supplies

• Degreaser (Mr. Clean)
• Bathroom cleaner
• Bleach
• Chemical spray bottle
• Boxes of gloves (disposable and non-disposable)
• Windex
• Dawn dish soap
• Toilet bowl cleaner
• Carpet cleaning solution
• Magic erasers
• Large garbage bags

Restoring Dignity Needs

• Truck to transport larger items to the family’s apartment on Saturday, March 28th, 2015
• Lunch for afternoon and all-day volunteers (pizza, sandwiches, etc.)
• Storage shelves and plastic bins for donation storage
• Dolly

Drop-Off:

There are two ways to drop-off items: (1) At our new storage unit, or (2) on the day of the project at the family’s home. If you plan on dropping off donations at the family’s home, please contact us for their address, and plan on having all items dropped off between 10am-11am, the day of the project.

Store Unit Location:

The Restoring Dignity storage unit is located in the garages behind the Omar Baking Building (4383 Nicholas St. Omaha, NE, 68131–the storage unit is in a fenced-in lot one block north of 43rd and Cuming Street, about 44th and Izard Street).

Drop-offs at the storage unit will be on the following dates and times:

Drop-off times:

Saturday, May 16th 2:00pm-4:00pm

Saturday, May 23rd, 2:00pm-4:00pm

Saturday, May 30th, 2:00pm-4:00pm

**Please note that there will not be any pick-ups for this project. If you are bringing large items, you can drop them off at the location mentioned above, or you can bring them the day of the project. Many apologies for this inconvenience.**

Schedule of the Weekend:

Saturday, June 6th, 2015

10:00am-6:00pm

There are multiple shifts available:

• Shift one: 10am-12pm : This shift is for people who want to help with cleaning, organizing clothes, steaming, carpet cleaning, & fixing items.
• Shift two: 12pm-2pm: This shift is for people who want to help with cleaning, organizing clothes, steaming, carpet cleaning, and building items.
• Shift three: 2pm-4pm: This shift is for those who can help move furniture into the apartment, build, & decorate.
• Shift four: 4pm-6pm: This shift is for those who would like to help decorate, arrange furniture, hang pictures, etc.
• Half-Day: 10am-2pm: This shift is for someone who would like to have a Restoring Dignity immersion.
• Half-Day: 2pm-6pm: This shift is for someone who would like to have a Restoring Dignity immersion.
• Full Day: 10am-6pm: This shift is for someone who is looking for a full-immersion with Restoring Dignity.

Sign up for shifts can be found at the Restoring Dignity Sign-Up Page.

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How to Get Involved:

• Donate items:

We could not do these projects without our donors! They are the heart of these projects! Please let us know what you can donate, and we will take the items off of the list above. If someone would like to “adopt” a member of this family or a room in the apartment, by fulfilling the donations needed for that area, let us know. Otherwise, if you have any items in your house that you no longer need or use, please consider donating them to these projects. Your donations truly do make a direct impact on families in need. To donate items to this family, visit our volunteer and donation sign up page.

• Donate gift cards

On the day of our projects, we often run low on basic cleaning supplies, hardware for hanging curtains, light bulbs, paper towels, toilet paper, and plastic bed wraps to keep down bed bug populations, among other items. Gift cards to major home stores or hardware stores (Target, Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc) are greatly appreciated and help to bridge the supply gap on project days. Contact Hannah (restoringdignity@live.com) or (402) 305-8139, if you are interested in donating a gift card. If you would like to mail a gift card, please address it to: Hannah Wyble, 3505 Hawthorne Avenue, Omaha, NE, 68131.

• Donate via PayPal

Restoring Dignity has recently merged and become a program under Southern Sudan Community Association (SSCA), a non-profit refugee resettlement agency. Tax-deductible donations can be made to Restoring Dignity via SSCA’s website: http://sscaomaha.info/donate/ . When you donate via PayPal, type “Restoring Dignity” under the “Add special instructions to the seller” box on the PayPal donation screen. Restoring Dignity is ran by volunteers, so 100% of all donations go directly to our projects.

• Volunteer:

For this project, we need a minimum of 40 volunteers, ideally 60 volunteers, spaced out over the course of the day. Our volunteers will clean, organize, steam bed bugs in mattresses and in corners, and decorate. The more volunteers, the faster we can accomplish our goal. We would love to have you join our team! Please visit our Restoring Dignity Sign-Up Page to add yourself to one of our two hour shifts. If you would like to help for a half or full-day, that option is also available.

• Mentor a refugee family

Did you know that hundreds of refugee families are resettled in Omaha every year? If each of them had an American family who could provide mentorship for at least one year, many of the issues that Restoring Dignity steps in to help with could be avoided. If you are interested in mentoring a refugee family (including this one!), contact Southern Sudan Community Association, as they have a mentoring program that is in need of many American volunteers: http://sscaomaha.info/for-volunteers/.

• Spread the word:

Tell your friends and family about this project! They might have an extra lamp or a dresser that is no longer in use. Re-post this blog on your Facebook page, or email it to people you know. The more people that know about these projects, the more donations and volunteers.

Follow us on Facebook:

Restoring Dignity has a Facebook Group that is regularly updated. Please join our group: Restoring Dignity Omaha Facebook Group.

Contact us:

Hannah Wyble

Director, Restoring Dignity Omaha

Call or text:

402-305-8139