“It was all donated by AT&T and their friends and family to fill the entire apartment which we adopted, and we'll have some left over for another apartment,” said Kathy Quick of the AT&T Pioneers Sierra Rivers Council.
Leading the collection effort is Quick, AT&T employee for 29 years, and a member of the group that’s volunteered over five thousand hours last year.
“[We did] Christmas stockings for children in school districts around
Eric Johnson, executive director of external affairs at AT&T, nominated the local chapter of Pioneers because he's seen its tireless effort, first-hand.
“They go about their work very quietly. They've just actually celebrated nationally a hundred year anniversary. It's one of the largest industry volunteer organizations, been around forever, and yet the work they do is much unseen but very much felt in the community,” said Johnson.
Now that the furniture is in the apartment, volunteers will spend their Saturday setting it all up for whoever ends up living here.
“It's very rewarding to know that I personally was able to help somebody who needed it,” said Quick.