Serving in Dallas: Finding Hope in a Good Night's Sleep

"Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served.  But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy."  Mahatma Gandhi

"To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity."  

Douglas Adams

Doug Nickols and Daughter Laura Nickols

  Imagine finding yourself suddenly homeless.  Maybe your home was destroyed by a tornado, or maybe your apartment was burned to the ground.  Maybe you moved across the country with your husband and four kids, with what seemed like a lot of savings, to find a better job and the job didn’t materialize. It might be a useful exercise to imagine this situation as I’ve heard it said, that many of us are just a few paychecks away from losing our housing. With hard work, perseverance and maybe luck, many will find their way out of homelessness. But sometimes that may mean moving into an empty apartment or rental home with every cent going to food, rent, and utilities.  Approximately 700,000 Americans go to sleep without a bed every night.  In 2012, 8,550,000 tons of repairable and reusable furniture was thrown away. This is where Doug Nickols of  Plano,Texas and the organization he directs comes in.    

     I met Doug originally at Stillwater High School in Oklahoma when we were sophomores.  We lived in the same neighborhood and walked the same route daily.  I wish I could say that I knew him well then, but like so many in a large school, we were more like friendly strangers.  Since Facebook entered our collective consciousness I, like many of you, have reconnected with many from our distant past and this is how I came to learn about Doug’s service to his community.  I’ve been impressed by everything I’ve learned about Bedstart and it is my hope, as well as Doug’s, that other programs like Bedstart might spring up in cities everywhere.

“The highly unique Bed Start ministry goes beyond existing charities, nonprofit organizations, and collection sites to partner with any and all in poverty, crisis, or need, requiring furnishings and other household items.

Our Tri-Union Approach

1.     Provide a hand up to those in need at no cost.

2.   Empower Spirit-filled individuals and groups invited into homes to serve of their talents

    skills and graces.

3. Foster gracious and generous in-kind and financial giving with donors who desire to share with others.”

From the bedstart website

     Doug started this innovative and unique program in 2008 after he lost his job and had time to get more involved in his community.  His previous job involved a lot of travel and he rarely had time to spend at home.  He grew up doing a lot of volunteering with his parents and had exposure to people in need through family travels and his church group.  Learning about different cultures, people, and environments provided grounding in understanding human nature, especially in less populated rural areas.  When I asked Doug what he thought about human nature he said “I think deep down inside we want do good, we want to be able to be in community with each other, to share with each other, but somewhere along the path of growing older we get distracted by greed, by material possessions, wanting to have enough for ourselves beyond our capacity to use for ourselves. We have a hoarding mentality to want to keep as much in our possession for some date and time." Sometimes this “hoarding” can happen as we save endless rooms of furniture or other goods for our children or even future unborn grandchildren.   We wish to gift our belongings solely to our family where we imagine the receivers will be curators of our family memories in the guise of goods.  This approach is what Doug calls conditional giving vs. unconditional giving.

Doug and the BedStart website team.

     Doug’s passion for serving was ignited five years ago when he met a woman who wanted to rent one of his houses. She had a terminally ill five- year old child and her goal was to move from an apartment to a house with a yard so that her son could enjoy the remaining time he had with a safe outdoor space and better housing. Unfortunately her husband left and took all of their furniture. She contacted Doug to let him know she couldn’t move to an empty house and she had no resources. “It broke my heart” said Doug, “we connected with the HeadStart Bedstart group that only provided beds at that time.”  The HSBS program had started  in 1995 with one school and provided beds to three and four year olds.  In 2008 the program was dying and led by one man who used whatever funds he could find. After he helped Doug provide beds and other donated goods his truck broke down and he decided to hang it up. The program died. “I felt that since I  did have a truck and a trailer and I did have what I felt was a calling to step in and help, I could also improve the program to include not just beds but also furniture, and not just  for one school but for many. I believe that God puts us in a position to help all, with no restrictions. 

     After restarting the program he began working through the school systems, beginning with the Independent School district of Plano, then with others throughout the Dallas Fortworth area.  Bedstart’s new aim was to serve any school and any child who had a need.  Over time the Bedstart progam began working with small agencies that had different resources and skill sets. Women’s shelters are  partners,  and when an individual leaves the program and is able to move into a house, BedStart works with the agency to provide furniture. About two years ago they were serving single parents with kids for 50% of deliveries, since then they are working with larger agencies.   Other partnerships include Habitat  for Humanity, American Red Cross, Veteran’s groups,  UMCOR/VOAD disaster relief and City of Dallas rehab for exiting prisoners. There is a big increase of requests in the winter.  Children are sleeping on the floor, Veterans are given housing vouchers but no furniture, and the needs seem endless.

     In the beginning Bedstart  was considered a hand out – not a hand up, the rich were giving to the poor, taking from the rich side of Plano, giving to the poor side of Plano. “I felt like that just wasn’t right.  It was a spiritual thing. During the time I spent unemployed, I left it up to God to help me find a job that was more rewarding and fulfilling, more beneficial to the employees I worked with instead of the bottom line. Part of that included reading the Bible and once I started doing that, I started seeing passages’ of Bible come alive.  I found an understanding from a deeper level of history or from the individuals in the Bible who are called to minister, I felt that the program needed to change from charity, which is one sided, to ministry so our Bedstart group not just focuses on those in need, but those who want to share." 

The Three Pillars of Bedstart:

1)People who want to share their goods.

Furniture, appliances ( not built in), beds, household items. Mattress companies promote BedStart to those persons that want to give away their own mattresses in good condition when they purchase a new one. New mattresses come from donations.  It’s hit and miss whether people get new or old, but all goods are disinfected and sanitized and Bedstart doesn’t take old, ripped,  or falling apart products.  “We aren’t a repair shop” said Doug.

2) Those that are interested in serving.

Those that serve are passionate about matching people who have resources with those that don’t. Bedheads enjoy sharing stories with people who are giving away treasured furniture with many memories.

3) Receiving

Five years ago less than 80,000 dollars, using garage sale prices, of furnishings were donated and only 10% of that was from financial donations. 100 beds were gifted.  This year 365,000 dollars in furnishings were gifted with 670 beds delivered.

A Few Facts:

*There are 300-400 Bedheads serving each year, including 120 Regulars. Every Saturday morning 30-40 people show up to pick up furniture and make deliveries.

*During the 2012-2013 school year, Bed Start was invited into 1,161 homes compared to 750 in the previous year (55% up)

* Bedstart delivered 667 beds compared to 384 in the previous year (74% increase) and delivered $363,315 total furnishings compared to $191,600 in the previous year (100% up).

*Bedstart has grown 30-40% every year since it began and now gives over $300,000 of donated furniture to those in need yearly.

* Bedstart doesn’t help financially with food and clothing but provides the furniture and goods that make a house a home, a place that kids look forward to coming home to, a safe place to play and to study.

* Dignity is a very important aspect of Bedstart service and every participant is treated with love and with  respect for their inherent worth as a fellow human being.

Doug with youth from the BedStart team.

     Doug and I had an interesting conversation about the difference between volunteering and serving.  I think it’s an important distinction to make and I am now rethinking my own position and philosophy regarding “volunteering vs. service” and exactly why I am doing it and for whom?  Doug’s definition is that “volunteers are those that spend their extra time and do it when they have time. Those that serve make it a priority.  It’s at the top of their list.  A lot find it very worthwhile and not just a checkmark on their service hours, especially with high school kids that get involved through high school societies, or youth groups at church.  They come back after they’re compelled or required because they enjoy making a difference in the lives of others.”  Another differentiation of Bedstart from other organizations is that the emphasis is on giving and receiving, rather than donating money.  Only 10% of BedStart's donations come in the form of financial gifts.  These gifts are useful but Doug prefers to focus on service and interconnection of the giver and the receiver. We both noted that so many of us in the USA are well off because of our birth into a financially secure family.  There is no virtue in being born wealthy just as there is no shame in being born into poverty.  It is essential then that we all give generously with whatever our resources are and to also recognize that every single human has intrinsic value and gifts to share with others.

     When asked, Doug happily admitted to being the Head Bedhead. “It has consumed my life.” I want to point out that Doug serves this ministry in addition to his full time job. So he is very much consumed with serving every single day.  He uses facebook as part of the ministry and encourages people to think and to “get off the computer and out in the community.”  Those who work with Bedstart experience the power of sharing and people’s  graciousness. “Last year we were invited into 1,100 homes, 600 of those were giving, and 500 were receiving. 30 – 40 people come and are divided in small crews and take off in trucks, trailers,  and small delivery vans."

Doug Nickols

     Bedstart rents a storage unit and Doug’s garage also serves as one.  He picks stuff up during the week as well as with the bigger crew on the weekend. “ I love it.”  Doug is creating a seamless life by taking his attitude of service into his paid work as well. “My life experiences in my day job and the ones after work are similar.” He feels that God helped him find the job he has now, and even though he had other offers,  he didn’t want to work only for a paycheck. His current job at an industrial air conditioner manufacturer focuses on helping employees to develop skills and to make improvements. 

     Doug’s wife, Caroline, is a school teacher, and while she is very supportive of Bedstart she focuses on making  changes in the way math is taught in the public school system. She is able to give a lot of leads for Bedstart through the school she works in. His young adult children also help out when they can.

     Doug and I talked for over two hours about Bedstart, other service oriented organizations in Dallas, and sharing our lives and experiences. An aim of this particular blog is to hopefully inspire even one person to start a Bedstart organization.  Doug has helped neighboring communities start similar programs and is excited about helping others to start a program wherever they live.  It’s important though that an organization that is started is about building relationship.

Important tenents would be:

*No paid employees

*Giving of time is of greater value than giving money

*Giving is without discrimination

*A focus on children, although all are served

Maybe you would like to start a Bedstart?

Doug’s parting words were this “I'm very strong in my beliefs and my faith.  Society in general needs to change. I think we've become so reliant on handing things over to Washington, to the government. We as a community need to take responsibility again for our neighbors.  Bedstart give us that opportunity to experience this." 

     How wonderful it is for us to feel real connection, joy and love as we work with our communities and neighbors to make a difference for each other.  This is service at it's best.

Namaste,

Felicia

Links from this blog:

To learn more about Bedstart in Dallas, to volunteer or even to donate please contact:

http://bedstart.org/

Cool Bedstart volunteer made video (embedded above):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF0c2YscKYs#t=66


Coming Soon:  Danube and her postcard project,  Anne's dedication to honoring a deceased friend's dream,  Jamie who successfully changes animal welfare laws,  and a whole lot more!  Stay tuned for stories of individuals who are happily following their passion to make the world a better place.