Welcome Home is a Newton nonprofit that takes donations of lightly used household goods and gives them to people in need.
Co-founder Mindy Peckler started the effort in 2016 with her friend, Julie Plaut Mahoney, who worked with older adults who were downsizing their homes and realized many of them had household items they would no longer need but that were still in good condition.
Mahoney called Peckler and asked if she’d like to help start a new organization to get the items into the hands of those who could not otherwise afford them.
They were invited to speak at a gathering of social workers for Jewish Family & Children’s Service. One social worker asked, “What forms will my clients need to access this?”
Another asked, “What fees are involved? Plaut Mahoney and Peckler said there were no forms and no fees, and Peckler sees this as crucial to their mission and what allows them to serve so many people.
“To see the relief on someone’s face when you tell them that, it’s worth everything,” said Peckler. Many social services require individuals to produce a lot of paperwork to be able to access the service. Initially, she and Plaut Mahoney felt like they weren’t doing very much compared to charities that provide food or housing, but they quickly realized that wasn’t true.
“Clients have no bandwidth. Because we’re giving them a comforter, they can think about other things,” she added.
Giving people dignity is highly important to Welcome Home. Only items in the best condition are given out. Half of their space on 1191 Washington Street is dedicated to storing items like sheets, which they package up based on a particular person’s request.
The other half is set up like a HomeGoods with decorative items, and clients are allowed to choose up to five.
“A lot of our clients don’t have choice in their lives. They’re given things. When they can come into a space and pick out what they like, that’s really important,” said Peckler.
Items go quickly.
“People come in and say, I love this lamp, and I hope someone else enjoys it. I tell them someone will come by this afternoon and pick it up, and they’ll love it too,” Peckler said.
Because they do not track the people they serve, they are not eligible for federal funding. They welcome both financial donations and donations of items. While they cannot pick up items from your home, they can help get them out of your car.
Welcome Home also has a table outside the Newton Food Pantry, and make sure to have items available later in the day for those coming by after work.
A lot of their clients sleep in king- or queen-sized beds, because they are sharing with their whole family. Those who are downsizing, however, are often getting rid of smaller sized sheets.
Welcome Home doesn’t throw these out. Twin sized sheets go to a veteran’s shelter. Twin XL sheets, the standard size for a university dorm bed, go to a group that collects lightly used dorm items for first-generation college students. Slightly frayed towels, or ones with children’s names on them, go to a program for homeless women which provides showers, and blankets are likewise given to a homeless outreach program. Otherwise unusable items are sent to a recycling center.
With about 130 volunteers, Welcome Home is rarely left short-handed.
“We have some people who volunteer because they love the impact we have for the environment!” said Peckler. “Some people meet with clients, and some fold sheets. It’s incredibly fulfilling,”
Anyone interested in helping can email Welcome Home at welcomehomemass@gmail.com.