We got to say “Welcome Home!” to a Veteran
By Jean Marie Herron, CPO
POSSE Partners, LLC.
I recently had the honor of coordinating a volunteer project for a disabled Veteran, his service dog Patrick, his new partner Lisa and her two children. When my colleague, Linda Blick, co-founder of Tails of Hope Foundation, asked me to lend a hand, I said I’d be happy to give a little time.
Then I met him, Veteran David Kist, and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude, respect, compassion and a desire to give back a lot took over my body, mind, and spirit. Maybe I had a preconceived image in my head of what a Veteran looks like… an older gentleman wearing a cap with an American flag, maybe even in a wheelchair. David was younger than me, sprite, grateful, appreciative, open to help and an awesome hugger. I was hooked as a volunteer.
When Lisa showed me around her home, now David’s home as well, during our organizing assessment, I knew even one full day organizing from me wasn’t going to make that much of a dent in the disorganization which I attributed to “transitional chaos”. This including botched and unfinished construction projects, a new family member, a new pet, two growing children, a recent divorce, a full-time working mom, health and disability challenges, etc. The list goes on, we all know how tough it can be to find the time, physical strength and mental mindset to power through organizational challenges.
As I was accepting the reality and severity of their daily disorder, I decided to ask humbly for help and have been overwhelmed by the response. Over the course of two Saturdays, I led teams that included 14 professional organizers from NAPO’s Northern New Jersey Chapter, a contractor, a junk removal company, a restoration company, boy scouts and girl scouts, and dozens of friends, family and neighbors who all wanted to give back to this man who gave selflessly to our country.
There is power in numbers and with so many volunteers, we were able to accomplish so much. We collected all the clothes (and there were many, many clothes) from all over the house and built two closets in the basement where we created an off-season system of shelving and bins. This was a huge endeavor because there was a tremendous amount of “clutter” that had to be sorted through just to get to the newly designated closet area in the basement.
A lot of Veteran David’s military items and memorabilia needed to be relocated to not only the attic but other parts of the house. It made sense to do both spaces together and we had another donation – a junk truck from Junkluggers. We had the woman and manpower, a vehicle to take away all the non-keepers and a goal to help this family learn “what they own and where it lives” in their newly decluttered spaces.
We decluttered and organized the garage and set the stage for a generous donation of a Monkey Bars Storage unit. We organized the attic with clearly labeled categories of keep areas such as sports, lawn, and garden, holiday decor, memorabilia, off-season clothing, house decor, etc.
In response to a reporter’s question of what these events meant to me, I said, “This experience of giving back to someone who dedicated his life for our country, never asking for anything in return, has been beyond humbling. It has made me realize that no matter who we are or what we do, we can all help our veterans. The look on David’s face as he watched the fabric of his community stitch together his home was priceless.”
In addition to Project Leader Jean Marie Herron, CPO, POSSE Partners, LLC, the following NAPO Northern New Jersey chapter members volunteered their time to this initiative: Stacey Agin Murray, Organized Artistry; Ann Bishop, Thomson Blueprints for Living; Dana Collins, ARRANGED; Carrie Cooper, Organize a Difference; Linda English, Organize with Ease; Linda Gabler, Organizing Together; Lisa Harris, Organize with Lisa; Lisa Haubenstock, Lisa the Organizer; Natalia Kansburg, Reclaim Your Space, Reclaim Your Life; Sindi Nqobo-Mensahn, Sindi’s Touch Clutter Queen; Tina Mezzina; Eileen Moynahan, Legacy Estate Organizing; Deirdre Smith, Happy Place Organizing; and Diane Thomson, Thomson Blueprints for Living.
Learn more about this initiative:
https://www.possepartnersllc.com/2019/04/22/welcome-home-to-a-veteran/
The volunteers on this project are a true example of the #NAPOCares initiative, which is sharing the three “T’s” of social responsibility: Time, Treasures, and Talents.
What a kind and selfless act, Jean Marie Herron (and all the others). Thanks for making our profession stand out and be recognized in such a positive light.
That was a beautiful story Jean. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you so much Regina!
This is such an amazing story, and a great illustration of the NAPO statement, “Together we are better!” Hats off to Jean Marie and all of the NAPO-NJ colleagues who made this happen.
Thank you Sharon. This was my first blog here!