Hello Friend!

What an amazing time of year to be in the GIVING business!

In this Fall Newsletter, you will hear some heartwarming updates and stories of how God used Furnishing Families to bless the community. Thank you, again, for your connection to this work. This community is beautiful.

Mattress Mania Updates

Year to date, we have delivered 343 mattresses among 180 DFW families. That represents 473 children! It’s been about 1 month of Mattress Mania, and currently the equivalent of 43 twin beds has been covered by your generosity. $10,252 and counting! THANK YOU!!

Mattress Mania is LIVE until December 31st! We’re so grateful to all who have helped us progress toward our fundraising goals this season. If you are making plans for your end of year giving or want to give the gift of beds to a family this Christmas, there is still time to join in the Mattress Mania: Click Here!

Giving Thanksgiving to Families

For the last 3 Thanksgivings, Furnishing Families has partnered with local grocery stores to help provide meals for some of our families for the Big Day! Deborah Castlemain and I (Annabelle) spearheaded the effort this year. Teams were sent out to various grocery and store chains to pursue partnership in donating food. Trader Joe’s in Fort Worth provided a $250 value of cases of veggies, cranberry sauce, stuffing and bouquets of flowers. They’re super generous and always participate in blessing the community.

The big surprises, however, came from Walmart and Sams Club. Walmart had a deal for $39.47 that included a full family’s meal & DELIVERY BY THEM to each family’s home. The meal fed 10 people! It simply needed to be cooked at home!

Sam’s Club also provided an 11 count of $10.00 off coupons! With this sale, 11 Turkeys cost ONLY $22–that’s $2.00 per turkey!! Deborah joyfully loaded her cart with these antibiotic-free, non-GMO turkeys. This was a generous provision we didn’t anticipate.

I was shopping at Kroger to pick up propane tanks the day before our outreach, and I observed the woman who was helping me carry 2 full propane tanks to my car. She made it look so simple. I asked her, ”How can you carry those 2 tanks at one time? Don’t you think they’re heavy?” She said, ”I’m a single Mom of 2 boys so I’m super strong!”

I asked her if she had all her Thanksgiving food for the holiday, and she said, ”Not yet,” so I invited her to come over to our warehouse and pick up everything she needed. You would have thought she won the lottery!! She was so happy!!”

SMALL IS THE NEW BIG!

We fed around 15 families this year. Some families came to the warehouse to pick up their goods and “shop” for other housewares for free. Other families were blessed to have their dinners delivered for basically free of charge. It was a blast to participate at any level.

We provided a card to the families that shared the heart behind why we do this, which invited them to take the next step in their spiritual journey and pray the sinner’s prayer. We will follow up with each family and look forward to seeing what’s next.

Celebrating Our Partners

Local partnerships make Furnishing Families thrive!

Meet Joe and Jan Valendy. They facilitate “Once And Done Estate Sales” throughout Dallas and Fort Worth. Our next door neighbors in the industrial park, Ray and Elizabeth Carter, introduced them to us. Joe and Jan have connected us with gorgeous furniture and household items that have been used for home transformations and Annabelle’s Treasures Pop Ups.

This October, they invited us to a local sales event at the Lion’s Den for the Keller Lion’s Club’s. Families and local organizations set up tables of various household and collectible items, art, toys, and more for sale. They graciously provided FFOT a prominent station at the entrance. There, we had a couple tables and a booth display of a complete twin bedroom set. Hundreds of families came through the venue!

The team gathered 5 pages of local family contacts that were acquired in a raffle giveaway for the whole bedroom set! HURRAY FOR LIST BUILDING! This also provided a unique opportunity to notify local families that in-kind donations can be picked up directly from a home! This is a win/win, because supply has become a bigger need lately.

Thank you to Joe and Jan for keeping Furnishing Families at the front of the line for unsold estate sale items. Your generosity has met many of our missing piece furnishing needs for home transformations. For any estate sale needs in DFW, you can contact them at jvalendy@gmail.com.

Annabelle Speaking At Health Summit

Come and hear me, Lance, and a wide variety of anointed speakers in Miami, Florida at The Health and Wellness Summit this January 15th-18th.

I would love to see you and say hello!

Learn More Here.

Zip Codes: FindHelp.org

As you know, the full spectrum of needs for FFOT’s client families extends well beyond beds and furniture. The search for available public and private outreach can feel overwhelming, and you may not know where to start. Finally, we discovered a FREE website that can quickly help identify resources in food, financial assistance, housing, health, and more based on your zip code! It’s FindHelp.org. Our client coordinator Julie Davis has a daughter, Jordyn, that works in MHMR, and she shared this wealth of information! Feel free to pass it on to anyone who needs help.

Helping Support The Troops

Furnishing Families had a special opportunity to help step in for a community uniquely impacted by the recent 43-day government shut down. As the shutdown progressed weeks after the October 1st start date, there was concern that active service men and women in all branches of the military were going to experience days without pay. On November 13th, Furnishing Families transferred food provided by Gateway Church to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NAS JRB) in Fort Worth.

Ultimately, the shutdown concluded the day before the coordinated delivery day, and thankfully, the troops received pay through the Department of Defense. When our movers made the delivery, the military members that the team met were still incredibly grateful for the generous love-in-action on display.

The FFOT team was honored to support those who serve this nation, and we are always happy to partner together with Gateway Church.

Holiday Pop Up

Who likes 50% off???

Friends, family, and valued customers are invited to Annabelle’s Treasures’ Holiday Pop Up this December 19th (12pm-5pm) and 20th (10am-3pm). Annabelle has been SLASHING prices left and right, and finally: THE 50% SALE will be in effect!

Come by and grab GIFTS and DEALS for the Giving Season: 5600 Egg Farm Rd, Suite 430, Fort Worth, Tx 76244.

Families For Furnishing?

If you live in the DFW area and know a struggling family that needs assistance with beds, furniture, and household items, we want to help. The Applicant Portal is now open!

Please refer them to visit HERE to review our policies and learn how to apply!

“...Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35b NASB).

As we enter the biggest BLESSING season of the year, the Furnishing Families team and I do not want to become casually familiar to the impact of giving to others–even within the context of daily work. Some of the most vulnerable lives in this region are being met with generous love. Your prayers for these delivery days are invited and appreciated.

Meeting basic human needs opens doors for connection and ministry. We also have some new partnership updates coming soon that will multiply the evangelistic side of this outreach! Stay tuned!

May you and your family continue to enjoy this holiday season. Lance and I now having extra fun with our 2 grandchildren and all the joy and energy they bring!! Family, alone, is such a beautiful gift from God.

As One,

Annabelle and Lance