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It was a simple little flier. It was sent out to multiple churches and organizations, with a desperate plea for help, resulting in little or no response — except for one.
Community Rebuilders, a non-profit organization that benefits veterans in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area, needed help furbishing 21 units designated for homeless veterans in a new apartment building in downtown Grand Rapids. Towels, sofas, kitchen appliances, beds, lamps — anything and everything for someone with nothing to have a comfortable apartment — were desperately needed as the organization didn’t have enough supplies to fill the need.
The flier made its way to Grand Rapids First (AG). When lead pastors Sam and Brenda Rijfkogel finally saw the request asking for “used items in good condition” to furnish the apartments for the veterans, the couple felt an immediate spurring of the Spirit to act upon the request.
“We decided to bring this request to our congregation,” Sam says of the church of about 3,300. “But we didn’t want to supply used items, we wanted to furbish the apartments with new furnishings and appliances.”
The Rijkogels estimated that it would take a little over $3,500 per apartment to properly supply it with all the household goods needed. In other words, an offering of at least $74,000 was needed.
To make matters more challenging, this couldn’t be a fundraiser done over a matter of months or even weeks as the apartments had to be move-in ready in just two weeks!
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