This past week, Couch Potatoes employees traded the couches and customers for work gloves and water bottles. We headed down to the Marbridge Foundation, a non-profit residential community that provides lifetime care to those with cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
We first became involved with the Marbridge Foundation after Becca McPherson, Vice-President of Development, watched how Couch Potatoes helped the greater community with the ice storm last year. As a furniture store, we believe that our mission should go beyond selling couches, and the Marbridge Foundation similarly goes beyond a nursing facility. The Marbridge Foundation is one in three that can serve the life-long care of adults with intellectual and cognitive disabilities. They do not just accommodate their residents; they specialize in taking care of them and enabling them to thrive. There are residents in their licensed skilled nursing facilities that have down syndrome in their 70's and 80's—which is unheard of in other places.
This isn't the first time we've been grateful enough to get the opportunity to help out Marbridge, as we visited last year to help get their campus ready for the holidays. With this visit, we got to help with landscaping across the 200-acre campus. Let's take a look at our day back at Marbridge!
Landscapers for a Day
There are 3 different care communities that are continuing to expand: The Villa, The Ranch, and The Village—the latter being the community that started our partnership with Marbridge. A new cottage was built for the Village, and they wanted McPherson to oversee the furnishing of it.
Our employees are hard at work weeding around the Villa.
Our volunteers were divided into 3 groups that would do landscaping on the soccer field, the admin building, and the Villa. It was a HOT day, but luckily some of our volunteers brought their sun hats and wore under armour underneath their blue Couch Potatoes t-shirts.
Fernando was prepared with his own gloves, hat, and even his own shovel.
Each group had their own set of tasks to complete. The group at the soccer field shoveled mulch into the back of pick-up trucks and then transported it, and the other two groups worked on landscaping around the admin building and the Villa.
The Admin building needed some strong women to tear up that mulch.
Teamwork made the tasks and the time, fly by. Music was playing from the speakers, the work was therapeutic, and employees got an opportunity to talk to people from different departments or stores they wouldn't otherwise have interacted with. It was a nice break from the routine of furniture selling, and it doesn't hurt to know you're assisting people who appreciate the help.
A Place of Peace
Marbridge may have needed some help with the landscaping, but you wouldn't notice that walking around its picturesque campus. It is a place of stability, where adults with cognitive disabilities can age in place, and age peacefully. There's a field with horses (and an adorable donkey), an amphitheater with plenty of seating, and gorgeous buildings built with a thoughtful and conscious direction on their placements.
Just being there for the 4 hours that we were, it was clear that the Marbridge Foundation places comfort and peace at the top of their priorities for both their residents and their guests. We had such a great time working together as a team and giving back to our community. We can't wait to come back and visit Marbridge again soon!
If you're interested in checking out the Marbridge Foundation, check out their website Marbridge.org and hit the tab "Get Involved". From there, you can explore the different ways to volunteer or donate! And if you want to stay updated on our next volunteering event, follow us on Instagram @atxcouchpotatoes. We'll see you soon!