Every first and third Tuesday, Kathy arrives at the Furniture Bank, beaming and eager to begin the day’s work. Mrs. Kathy, as she is known to Furniture Bank staff and clients, spends a couple of mornings a month helping clients select their furniture. Usually, her mornings are packed with clients from nine to noon, but one Tuesday morning I pulled her aside to learn more about one of our favorite volunteers.

Born and raised in New York City and New Jersey, Kathy moved to Atlanta in her twenties looking for adventure and opportunity. She’d heard good things about the South, and the city reminded her of her childhood in New York. “It’s just a really neat place to live. Anything you want, it’s Atlanta. Anything you want at all.”

She worked a number of odd jobs in her twenties, selling everything from optical hardware to real estate before she began questioning her vocation. “I just felt like, ‘What do I want to do when I grow up?’ So I finally figured it out, and it was going to need schooling. I wanted to get in the helping profession. That was always a calling for me.” At the urging of a close friend, she returned to college and earned a degree in mental health.

Fresh out of college, Kathy took a position as a substance abuse counselor at the Department of Veteran Affairs, where she would serve veterans for 24 years. “Addiction is just heartbreaking… But the ones who come back, rather, that we know who make it, who would come back and visit and say, ‘Hey, I’m still clean, I’m still sober,’ it’s just wonderful.”

More than three decades later, Kathy still feels drawn to service. Since retiring in 2014, she’s worked with a variety of organizations in Atlanta and first started volunteering with the Furniture Bank a little over a year ago. “I just love the idea of people starting over again, and that this organization gives the people an opportunity to pick out furniture for their new place. I mean, that is just so unbelievably positive. Makes you feel so good and they’re just so happy…so that stuck with me. This is a great, great place.”

Before she returned to shopping clients, I asked Kathy if she had any final advice to offer. She responded without hesitation: “Come to the Furniture Bank. You will absolutely love this experience. I don’t know who benefits more: you or the people who come here.”

By: Allie Green