by Ginger Young, Founder and Executive Director
One of Book Harvest’s board members is fond of saying that we exist in a haze of pixie dust. Sparkly goodness seems to rain down on us at every turn. Here’s the latest example.
First, we landed a lease on the office of our dreams last month. You’ll have to stop by to see for yourself why it’s so amazing (Rockwood Shopping Center, 2501 University Drive, Durham).
Once we had signed the lease, we couldn’t wait to move. But we’re a nonprofit, and we didn’t have the money to hire movers. Schlepping all those boxes and shelves was something we would just have to do ourselves, over time.
Then, the pixie dust floated down, and the marvelous folks at Windsor Circle in American Underground asked if they could send a couple of dozen volunteers our way. They claimed they were up for anything – and they were right!
The Windsor Circle crew descended on us mere hours after the last of the paint had been rolled on our new walls, with the carpets still damp from their cleaning. We blinked, and suddenly all the contents of our old office had migrated to our new one. The shelves were magically reassembled and loaded with boxes of book inventory. The furniture was placed perfectly. The air was full of laughter and purposefulness. You can kind of tell from this photo that it was a fun afternoon.
The next day, surveying the beauty of our new home, we made a short list of items we lacked. At the top of the list was a couch, to make our central area feel like the welcoming living room we wanted it to be for our many visitors, volunteers, and client families. Again, no money. Again, we expected to have to settle, wait, make do.
That afternoon, I happened to read an email from American Underground boasting about one of its tenants, the Nugget Comfort Company – maker of “the easiest, most versatile, funnest furniture ever”. I was intrigued. I checked it out: it was unabashed love at first sight. The orange nugget called out to me shamelessly.
Daring to dream (as I have so often done with all things Book Harvest), I sent a cold call email to the founder of Nugget, David Baron. Then I sent an email to Matt Williamson, the CEO of Windsor Circle whom I had met just the day before as he led his team to moving victory, to ask if perchance he knew his American Underground neighbor David and could put in a good word for us.
In less than ten minutes, David had pledged a nugget, and Matt had pledged a donation in honor of David. WOW. The pixie dust was thick in the air.
There are many things which strike me as nifty about this story — among them is the realization that there are some seriously philanthropic vibes zinging around American Underground. Those folks are now part of our family, and we will continue to engage them in our work to provide plenty of books to every child in our midst who needs them.
Soon, you can come sit on our new orange nugget. Just don’t be surprised if your backside gets covered in pixie dust.
Want to back Nugget on Kickstarter? Click here!