Turning a House Into a Home With Humble Design

I recently had the incredible experience of working with Humble Design (HD) to design and furnish a home for a family transitioning from homelessness. Humble Design is a nonprofit that transforms empty houses into homes for families and veterans who are moving into permanent housing – a simple idea that can change a family’s future.

Humble Design staff, our Schultz Family Foundation team, and friends like Marty Hartman of Mary’s Place turned an empty townhouse into a welcoming home for Daishia and her three children. The day entailed loading a U-Haul (an HD National Sponsor) with furniture and household items curated to meet the needs and interests of each family member, and transporting it from HD’s new Seattle warehouse to the family’s new apartment. We then broke into teams to design and set up all the rooms. The process of setting up a home for a deserving family and working side by side with the HD team and a great group of volunteers was impactful. But nothing could beat the look on Daishia’s and her children’s faces when they walked in to their new home!

It was a powerful experience and a reminder of the power of community to change lives. You too can volunteer, donate furniture, or sponsor a family with your company or organization.

Humble Design is a Detroit-based non-profit that has helped over 1,000 families move out of homeless shelters by providing furnishings and design services. I was so inspired by their mission of transforming an empty house or apartment into a home that our foundation supported the opening of their fourth program in Seattle. The local program is now helping to change families’ circumstance and futures in our backyard.