Restoring Dignity Home Makeover #38
Saturday, August 14th, 2021
“There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.”
-Mister Rogers
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Their Story
Thirteen years ago, a 19 year old Karen women found herself on a plane to California, USA. The past eleven years were a blur of survival and questioning what the future would hold. When she was eight years old, her family was forced to flee their home, due to the civil war that was raging in Burma’s Karen State. Her parent’s livelihood of cultivating their family farm was ripped away in an instant, and they were soon labeled with the word “refugee”: a person who has to leave their country to escape the horrors happening within. This young woman grew up behind the fences of a refugee camp, often wondering what would happen with her life. She was able to get seven years of education in the camp, which she was thankful for. At 19, she and her family were approved to come the USA, after a long and stringent vetting process (only 1% of refugees worldwide ever get resettled… the need is huge… currently, over 80 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Of those 80 million, 26 million are considered “refugees,” meaning they are seeking asylum in another country. The other 54 million are displaced in their home countries). In 2012, she found the person she wanted to marry and they moved to Omaha in 2015. Three beautiful babies were born, and things were looking up until Covid hit. Her husband lost his job in November 2020, and due to a processing error, the family received no unemployment benefits for the five months that he was jobless. He applied for more jobs than can be remembered, and finally got a full-time position at a metal factory a few months ago. Prior to this, however, they had to borrow money (which has to be repaid) from every friend and relative just to survive during those five months. Further complicating the situation was the 12 year old son having a difficult time adjusting to life in America. A year before Covid hit, the husband’s 12 year old son from a previous relationship moved from a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border to their apartment in Omaha. Being a pre-teen is hard enough, on top of the added stress of moving across an ocean to a new life in America. Adjusting to this new life has been a struggle for the 12 year old, and his mentor made a referral to Restoring Dignity, asking if we could come and help make this family’s apartment feel like a “home.” We met with the family, listened to their story, saw the needs within their home and asked if they would like us to do a home-makeover. The answer was a resounding yes! On Saturday, August 14th, 2021 we will come together as a community and bring this family furniture, household items and hope. This is our second home-makeover during the pandemic, and we want to make sure that all of our volunteers and the family we are serving are safe. If you are vaccinated against Covid-19, there is no mask requirement while you are in the family’s home. If you are not vaccinated against Covid-19 (including children), masks will be required. Thank you for respecting our rules. Join us as we aim to help provide this family with what they need to make their apartment feel like a “home.”The Home
The Solution
We are taking action on Saturday, August 14th, 2021 to provide this family with much-needed household, cleaning and organizational items.Supplies Needed
Please sign-up for items you will donate on our donation sign-up page.
Items can also be purchased on Amazon here.
Note: if you order items on Amazon, forward us your order email so we can send you a BIG thank you and a tax receipt: info@rdomaha.org Donation Drop-Off: All items can be dropped off at: Restoring Dignity Community Donation Center 1205 South 50th Street Omaha, NE, 68106 Drop-Off Times: Saturday, July 24th, 2021 10:00am to 1:00pm Saturday, July 31st, 2021 10:00am to 1:00pm Saturday, August 7th, 2021 10:00am to 1:00pm You can drop items off on the above Saturdays with no appointment. If you would like to drop-off items during the week, please click here to schedule an appointment. **All items must be dropped off by Saturday, August 7th** If you have questions about this project, please email: info@rdomaha.org or call/text: 402-370-9777.Volunteers Needed
Please sign-up to volunteer via our sign-up page.- Saturday, August 14th, 2021:
- Transportation: 8am-10am: This shift involves loading items onto a moving truck at the donation center, and unloading them at the family’s home. We will provide a U-Haul truck.
- Shift one: 10am-12pm: This shift is for people who want to help with cleaning, organizing clothes, steaming and fixing items.
- Shift two: 12pm-2pm: This shift is for people who want to help with cleaning, organizing clothes, steaming and building items.
- Shift three: 2pm-4pm: This shift is for those who can help move furniture into the apartment, build and decorate.
- Half Day: 10am-2pm: This shift is for someone who would like to have a Restoring Dignity immersion and/or be a project leader.
- Half Day: 12pm-4pm: This shift is for someone who would like to have a Restoring Dignity immersion and/or be a project leader.
- Full Day: 10am-4pm: This shift is for someone who is looking for a full-immersion with Restoring Dignity and/or wants to be a project leader.
- Handyperson shifts: This shift is for a person who is skilled with tools, can help fix broken items in the home, can assemble beds and other furniture, and can hang pictures.
How to Get Involved:
- Donate items:
- Donate financially:
- Spread the word:
