Valley residents answer turn out to answer nonprofit's plea for essential items

Community answers call for needed supplies by nonprofit

It all began with a simple request on Nextdoor, asking for people to donate gently-used items.

PHOENIX - A Valley nonprofit geared towards helping homeless families needed essential items, so they decided to ask for help.

It all started with a decision by officials with Family Promise to post on the popular neighborhood app Nextdoor, and what came next was a big showing of support.

"The response was overwhelming," said Lisa Randall with Family Promise. "Humbling, to be honest."

Family Promise is an organization that rescues first-time homeless families, and provides emergency shelter. Randall says they were running low on supplies, especially towels. So she posted on Nextdoor, asking for gently-used items.

What Randall didn't expect was how busy she would be very soon.

"Over 160 people contacted me, saying 'not only can I give towels, but what more did you need?'" said Randall.

Then, donations started to pour in, and nearby residents arrived at their shelter with lots of essential items, goodies, and of course, plenty of towels.

Some neighbors even went further.

"I got a phone call from a neighbor who said 'I just got my stimulus check and I want to give it to Family Promise. I don’t need it,'" said Randall.

Before the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Family Promise was a daytime shelter, with their guests spending the nights with their partners at congregations and synagogues. After the pandemic began, many churches stopped having in-person gatherings, so Family Promise became a 24/7 shelter.

"Families are still dealing with homelessness, and we continue to welcome," said Randall.

That is why the items requested have been so important to get families back on their feet, and this small outpouring of community love shows they are not forgotten in those efforts, and while they still need essential items, there is one thing they are no longer asking for.

"We don’t need anymore gently used towels," said Randall. "We are full, and we are going to be for quite a while."