Armed with toolboxes and shelf paper, Sandians volunteered over three days to prepare an apartment for a family in need through partnership with nonprofit Saranam. On Aug. 2 and Aug. 9, groups of volunteers outfitted the apartment with essentials and décor. On Aug. 8, a volunteer group from Sandia’s Workplace Improvement Network constructed two twin beds for the apartment.

Saranam, a nonprofit organization based in Albuquerque, offers a two-year program that provides families with housing, food, education and job training to break cycles of generational homelessness. This approach helps families escape from homelessness and poverty permanently with a 76% success rate, according to Saranam’s website.

On July 28, prior to the decorating days, Community Involvement Specialist Roberta Rivera received keys to the three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment and began organizing donations and shopping for items on lists provided by the nonprofit.

The first group of volunteers prioritized cleaning the space and assembling furniture, such as accent tables and dressers. A volunteer was tasked with removing stickers from new items, a few Sandians assembled flat-packed furniture and others prepped the kitchen before it was stocked. The second group of volunteers assembled the remaining furniture, hung curtains and art, and ensured the apartment was ready for its new residents’ arrival.

From blueprints to beds

Systems research engineer Michelle Williams mobilized a group of volunteers to build five beds for Saranam — two of which were used in the newly furnished apartment. Michelle, who is part of her division’s Workplace Improvement Network, or WIN, funded the project with a $1,000 Super WIN grant that could be used for a project that benefits a nonprofit.

Michelle’s father builds beds for children through the Rotary Club in her hometown in Minnesota so when Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller visited Sandia in March, his talk on homelessness in the city inspired Michelle to build beds for children in Albuquerque. She reached out to Community Involvement Manager Katrina Wagner for information about local nonprofits.

Katrina introduced Michelle to Saranam. She determined they could build five twin beds within their budget. Michelle’s dad shared his blueprints, which are beds built with brackets that will allow families to disassemble and move them to a new, permanent residence when they complete the two-year program.

Michelle partnered with WIN representative Brendan Nation to ensure continual progress on the project. They worked at the Air Force Research Lab Maker Hub, where they accessed a suite of tools and woodworking equipment, as well as necessary training to prepare the wood.

The WIN team spent the grant on materials to build the beds and five sets of bedding. A local mattress store donated new mattresses. The Jemez Mountain Bear Paw Quilt Guild made and donated six quilts to cover the beds.

Saranam placed the three additional beds in three other apartments at the same complex. Michelle hopes to build beds to furnish new housing that Saranam has built in west Albuquerque. She would also like to expand training at the Maker Hub to more Sandians.

“Now that we’ve gone through the process and we know what works, what doesn’t work and what we would change, I know that we can make them even better for the future,” Michelle said.