BrandSource member Larry Alterwitz at one of the 1,000 households he’s assisted over the years.
Walker Furniture has been furnishing fresh starts for 29 years
By Thomas Lester, Furniture Today
The following article is reposted with permission of Furniture Today.
In its 29th year, Top 100 retailer Walker Furniture & Mattress’s “Home for the Holidays” program is providing 35 recipients with a houseful of new furniture.
The program begins with nomination letters describing a person or family’s situation or predicament. Anyone in the community can submit a letter, including first responders, teachers, health care professionals, social service workers, clergy, friends, neighbors and family members. It started in 1994 with donations to 12 families and has grown over the years.
“We gave away 12 households of furniture,” said Larry Alterwitz, owner of the Las Vegas-based retailer. “We quickly went up to 35 households, and 29 years later we hit a milestone of furnishing 1,000 homes through this program.”
As the program has grown, Walker Furniture has attracted community partners including Helping Hands of Vegas Valley, a local nonprofit organization servicing senior citizens. Again, this year, the organization’s trained staff was the preliminary committee reading hundreds of letters and narrowing the field to 100 and sending representatives out to substantiate each person or family’s need. An executive committee comprised of Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, community leaders, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Clark County Fire Department and local media personalities make the final selection for the 35 recipients.
Deliveries have begun for this year. On the first day, furniture was delivered to the Cleveland family, which has been through rough times with the mother of five passing away in the pandemic while the father was incarcerated. He has since become a role model, and the family just moved into a house together.
The second delivery from a Metro letter was to a mother of seven children living in a two-bedroom apartment. While the family bond is strong, the hardships are many, and the furniture makes a huge difference.
“You see, each year as we make our rounds to furnish the homes of the many recipients, I see a kind of magic begin to happen,” Alterwitz said. “What starts out as a dining room table suddenly becomes a sense of hope and pride. A sofa comes through the front door and is transformed into respect. A bedroom set changes a room into a place of inspiring dreams and endless possibilities.”
Star Nursery has been partnering with Home For The Holidays, delivering a live tree, ornaments and a $500 gift card, collected from employees and customers, to each home. Las Vegas Rescue Mission brings food supplies and offers future assistance.
The program has served as a springboard for recipients to achieve greater things.
Some years ago, a lady related her gratitude for Home for The Holidays. “You know, when I first moved into town 10 years ago, I had nothing,” she told Alterwitz. “I needed help more than you can imagine. I was one of your recipients, a break I so very badly needed. Not only did it furnish my home, but it was a turning point in my life. Shortly thereafter, I was motivated to go back to school and get my law degree. Today I am a successful practicing attorney. Thank you.”
Thomas Lester is Retail Editor of Furniture Today, an authoritative source of home furnishings news and information since 1976.
