Furnishing Families of California
We have been blown away by the stories of how Furnishing Families of Texas has inspired others to do the same thing in their region. If you have been following us for a while, you will remember our friend and partner Donna Biss. In 2021, Donna moved to Texas from California in the middle of the pandemic, primarily because she felt a connection with the mission of Furnishing Families to serve those in need.
Donna and her family immediately became an integral part of our operation. She became the funder, buyer, and oftentimes, deliverer of food and cleaning supplies to the families we furnished. Her daughters would often help with prep and deliveries, and her son Kyle became one of our main truck drivers and movers. Donna assisted with different outreaches, especially the Christmas project, where 50 children in our network received gifts. Donna personally contributed most of that budget. Her heart and generosity is off the charts.
When she and her family needed to move back to California due to changes in their work and family business, Donna desired to start something similar to Furnishing Families in her new home city of Orange County. She reached out to a local domestic abuse shelter called Laura’s House, because she felt she wanted to serve women who were the most vulnerable and needed help. She discovered that though there were beds at the home placements for girls that exit the program, they were in need for everything else. This is how Furnishings Families of California started.
Like in Texas, this became a family operation. Her sons have pickup trucks and help transport the heavy duty furniture (dressers, couches, etc.). Whatever doesn’t fit in the trucks, Donna brings in her car: food, cleaning supplies, clothes, blankets, pots, pans, microwaves, small appliances, etc. All of the homes have children, and Donna’s daughter, Savannah donates stuffed animals. While many of the women do not speak English, Donna shares her contact with everyone, hoping to build a relationship over time and minister to them personally.
Because this is a part-time project, Donna’s intention is not about quantity but quality. To date, 8 families have been served. “It's in God's hands,” she says. “If He wants it to go bigger…God will bring it all in, right?” Annabelle’s desire from the beginning of Furnishing Families has been for people to simply begin with what they have, without feeling they need to start a big organization. We are so proud of Donna and provoked by her commitment to service.
Since being back in Orange County, there have been more opportunities for contributions. In September, she joined a local group sending items, especially diapers and baby products, to families displaced in the Maui fires. Her daughter Savannah also sent stuffed animals for the children. (She’s started her own organization called Blue Birds Charities!)
Next, they have their sights set on the holidays: She shares, “We are busy buying Christmas presents for the wounded warriors families and Camp Pendleton base families which is located near us…They are in need of 800 gifts; praying we could meet their needs!!” FFOT shipped 13 boxes of Preston and Brianna swag to Donna to include in the gifts to the Wounded Warrior’s children! (We also sent 13 cases of Preston and Brianna swag to Mario Murillo Ministries in California for their Christmas outreaches to the people in their communities.)
To learn more about Furnishing Families of California or to donate, please visit their website furnishingfamiliesofca.com. We look forward to tracking their journey and sharing another update in a future newsletter. Thank you, Donna Biss and family, for all that you do!