OGDEN, Utah — A nonprofit in Ogden that helps furnish the homes of families getting out of homelessness is looking for new wheels to help get back on their feet.
Over the past few years, "Do Good Today" has helped more than 800 families get furniture like sofas, TVs, beds, tables, mattresses, chairs, and more.
"We have all this furniture in storage, and we can’t get it to them,” said Gary Attebery, executive director of Do Good Today.
Attebery and his wife started the organization to remember their son, Devin.
"Every home that we furnish has a little bit of my brother in it,” said Teresa Betzer, Attebery’s daughter and chair of the board. “It's a way to honor him."
All the items given and collected through donations in the community.
After a partnership fell through, Do Good Today lost access to their box truck.
"It was upsetting because we knew that we weren’t going to be able to meet the community's needs, and it just felt like a little bit of a failure,” Betzer said.
They are trying to raise about $11,000 for a new truck, and they need help to do that. You can find details to donate at dogoodtodayutah.org.
They have about 20 families now waiting for things for their home.
"If they have a truck and are able to come get stuff, we're still able to help them. But we don’t have the means for transporting the furniture and the televisions and the beds to their apartments,” Betzer added.
"We try to furnish them everything that they can think of,” Attebery said. “So that they get what they need to have a home."
Natasha Carrillo’s family had their home furnished about a week ago.
"No judgment in any way, shape or form, just love,” she said. She also added that she hopes more people get to benefit from their generosity. "Went from kind of a survival mode where we were still just kind of surviving to truly making it feel like a home and making it feel comfortable and like we belonged... It's life-changing. It makes you feel confident."
Betzer hopes people can help them reach their goal to get a reliable form of transportation that fits their needs.
"We really need to get the box truck in order to keep doing the good work that we've been doing,” she said. "It makes the community better because we're helping people get off the streets and stay off the streets."
