Abandoned Furniture Was Meant To Help Harvey Victims
By Tom Mustin
THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4)- A massive donation drive to help out victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston has hit a snag. The ThornCreek Church in Thornton organized a drive over the past weekend.
They collected more furniture than they could haul away. Now, the excess donations are sitting outside in a field on the side of the road.
"We filled up two semis full to the gills," said ThornCreek Pastor Jason Staudinger.
Staudinger surveyed the sea of furniture collecting dust in a field in Thornton.
"We tried to do our very best to bless the people of Houston, and obviously we got more than we could take," Staudinger told CBS4's Tom Mustin.
Last Friday, the ThornCreek Church began a relief donation drive to help victims of Harvey in Houston.
The drive took place on private land that will eventually house the Thornton congregation.
People from across the state stopped by and filled two semi trucks with couches, tables, water, and other supplies.
"We had a gentleman drive down from Steamboat Springs with an entire trailer of furniture," said Staudinger.
But it may have been too much of a good thing. When the drive ended, the furniture kept coming. With two trucks filled, the church tried unsuccessfully to secure another semi.
"Unfortunately, we're a small church. We don't have unlimited resources. We can't just call another semi out here- those were donated."
On Monday, the two packed trucks headed to Houston. On Tuesday, a sea of pots, pans and couches stood unclaimed outside the church's future home- prompting some complaints from residents.
The pastor says the furniture will eventually be hauled away, but he's hoping people won't lose sight of the real story- the generosity of Coloradans.
"Do you think this goes in the 'no good deed goes unpunished category' that people are complaining about this?" asked Mustin.
Staudinger replied, "I understand people are frustrated."
"We did the absolute best we could for a church our size to send two, 53-foot long semis down to Houston and to bless those people, I think we did a really good thing."
Staudinger says the church has called ARC Thrift stores to haul away the remaining furniture and give to deserving local families.
They're hoping to have all the furniture removed by Wednesday.
Tom Mustin is CBS4's Weekend Anchor. He has been with CBS4 since 2002, and is always looking for great story ideas. Connect with Tom on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @TomCBS4.