Saturday was the 10th Annual Furniture Give-Away for new international students at IU. What a day!
The weather forecast for the day was 90+ degrees with an approximate 40% chance of rain with thunderstorms most of day. We had a wet spell at around 0830 while the truck drivers and assistants were getting instructed on their duties. I was so pleased to see the will-do attitude of the delivery volunteers. It was clear that the rain was not going to stop us. The waters then quickly parted until the last run of the day. The timing of that was perfect as it gave us renewed energy to wrap up the task set before us.
Each year I am amazed at how much the community joins us in this mission of serving those that God has delivered from around the world to our backyard. Here are the rough stats for this year. I also showed the numbers from the last few years to show how God continues to bless this event.
| Category | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| # Students | 252 | 277 | 276 | 297 |
| # Furniture | 800 | 822 | 800+ | 1162 |
| # Volunteers | 125 | 303 | 260 | 375 |
| Household Items | Lots! | Lots! | Lots! | Lots! |
We literally had a mountain of furniture this year! We used a semi-trailer as overflow for all the chairs we had collected. Not only did we have the privilege of serving more students, but they also received more furniture than they did in the past. Students really appreciated the way it made their apartment feel like home.
We could not have served all these students so much furniture if it were not for our volunteers. The volunteer base swelled from 275 preregistered to an estimated 375 that actually participated in the event. A good portion of these walk-ins were students from IU who joined us from 12:00pm-3:00pm. They were part of a New Student Service Day program where the students could choose from a variety of projects to help them get connected with the community. So we received not only a record amount of new international students, but also another 40 – 60 new IU students as well.
Having so many volunteers allows us the luxury of tailoring positions to meet specific needs. This year we had 41 different positions based primarily upon whether the volunteer could move furniture or if they wanted to interface directly with the students. We also had two handicapped people and a blind person working at the event. We want to see that every person that is called to serve has the opportunity to do so.
I spent several minutes talking with Rendy Shrader who is the Director of Student and Scholar Advising for International Services at IU. She was so pleased at how well we were taking care of “her” students. She especially loved seeing the little ones escorting the students by hand to the Bonus Bag area. Truth be told, it makes my heart melt every time I see it, too.
It was such a blessing to see so many of the Sherwood Oaks leadership, staff, elders and deacons contributing to the success of the event. Thanks for all you do in helping to make this possible.
To God be the glory.