Lakewood nonprofit helping Colorado families turn houses into homes with free furniture day
Every day the team at American Samaritan brings new life to old furniture.
"Our phone rings on a continuous basis we are still not able to get out to all the people that want to donate to us," Douglas Evans said.
The family-run nonprofit has an entire showroom of used items, things not everyone can always afford, but often need.
Roughly 8,000 square feet filled with sofas, lamps, dining tables, and chairs.
"For a lot of people who needed furniture larger items, they are too expensive to purchase new they maybe don't have the means to transport to their house, single mom or elderly and they can't lift a couch," Evans said.
While their focus is on filling the need for those more necessary items. The family-run shop has found a soft spot for a sort of, luxury item, the piano.
Evans' daughter Rebecca has been playing since she was four- it was while trying to find her first piano he ended up with three, and their collection began.
"83 pianos later," Rebecca Evans said.
She's now 13 and the resident piano expert.
"It's been a family journey I've been here along the way so I kind of helped build it a little bit I've just seen how it works," she added.
With so many pianos, she thought it was time to do something different and now runs their "Pianos to the People" program.
"There's children who want to want to play the piano they just can't, so we try to break that barrier for them," Evans said about the program.
They are now giving pianos to children and families who can't afford them.
"We like to put music in front of children like they did with me because it's a way to communicate it's just something that so magical," she said.
While not everyone will benefit from a free piano, they're mission to provide as much help as they can to the community continues by offering a free furniture day.
Now, so popular families line up to get inside.
"Here is a line like out to the curb 100 plus people," Douglas Evans said.
Financially he says it's a loss, but the impact to those they serve and the feeling they get to hold on to, is priceless.
The first free furniture day of the new year is Saturday 10 a.m. at the American Samaritan showroom at 8400 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215.
