Renesting Project gathers furniture through donations, and from its upcoming fundraiser

When a natural disaster or some other event leaves a person or family homeless, the Renesting Project steps in to create a fresh start for them. Executive Director Emily Jo Manchester-Sanden said, “Our mission is to gather and distribute gently-used household furniture and household items for those in need here in northwest Louisiana.”

She explained that they are the only furniture bank in the region, serving nine parishes. The community is an integral part of their mission. “Our community donates the furniture, they refer clients to us, they help fund our program through donations and supporting our events like Renest Fest coming up,” she explained.

Renesting Project’s clients are referred by approximately 65 agencies in the region, which help people in various areas, including housing, counseling or any other service the partner offers.

Manchester-Sanden explained that while one agency helps a client with housing, they often don’t have the funding and resources to fill the home with the essentials. “For example, we work with the VA Hospital, and they have a homeless veterans program that helps previously homeless veterans into housing. Once they’re housed, they need some help. So, what we do is we provide everything from the notepad and the pen in the junk drawer to the mattress and the bed frame they’re sleeping on, and whatever else they need in between.”

She said that because the Renesting Project is a small local operation, those area partnerships allow them to outsource the outreach of those agencies. “Our agency partners are verifying and identifying the needs of the families that we’re serving, and we get to focus on the fun stuff, which is the furniture and the household items that we are providing.”

The service is free and depends on local donations and financial backing, Manchester-Sanden said. Some of that backing comes from events like monthly pop-up auctions and the annual fundraiser, Renest Fest. This year, it’s coming up on Sept. 27 at Live! Casino & Hotel from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“The theme is Disco and Donate,” Manchester-Sandin said. “We’re encouraging people to come and have a fun discothemed party, and, of course, to donate. It is a fundraiser. We’re partying to support our mission and to spread awareness and to raise money for that mission.”

She said Nick the DJ will be on hand to present music from all genres, keeping it close to their disco theme. Live! is providing light appetizers. “We’re encouraging people to eat at Live! Casino before or after the event. There will be a cash bar. We’ll have a photo booth, and we’ll have games to play. We’ll have a silent auction and a few live items. We’re doing some door prizes. It really is just going to be a fun event. We’re hoping people come, enjoy the heck out of themselves, and learn something new about our program and about the service that we’re doing in our community.”

Manchester-Sandin said people are welcome to donate their household items and furniture anytime their warehouse is open at 1331 Driftwood Drive in Bossier City. “We’re open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 to 5, and the second Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“If you have some furniture that you cannot get to us, we do have a donation pick-up service, and you can learn more about that by visiting the Donate tab of our website, www.renestingprojectinc.org. It’s a free service that we offer in the Shreveport-Bossier area for people who have two or more pieces of furniture that won’t fit in their vehicle. Our wait list is a little bit long, but if you put in a request online, we will call you and come get your stuff.”