About Us
Founder Nancy Kanell
Project Home Again started, quite by accident, in September of 2003. When an acquaintance who was down on her luck came to me and said her stove was broken and she had no money to fix it or buy a new one, I had an idea. I put a notice in our temple bulletin to see if anyone was remodeling their kitchen and had a stove they no longer needed. I was not only offered a stove, but several other appliances. Not wanting to turn them down, I made some phone calls and found new homes for all the appliances.
Now aware of the need, I repeated the notice in our next bulletin, but this time was offered furniture. I made some more phone calls and found some more families who could benefit from furniture no longer needed by the donors. I repeated the notice for several months and was now receiving not only furniture and appliances, but other household goods such as blankets, lamps, and dishes.
My garage overflowed and it became obvious that not only was there a great need in the area for this kind of agency, but that I could no longer run it out of my house. Ozzy Properties offered to donate some warehouse space and Temple Emanuel gave me an office, and Project Home Again was born. I began making appointments with social service agencies all over the Merrimack Valley to let them know that PHA was there to help their clients. I met with local clergy to ask their help spreading the word to their congregations about what we were trying to do. Good luck led to newspaper articles that helped spread the word.
In the last six years, PHA has grown from a one woman operation to a staff of twenty-two regular volunteers serving thousands of families a year. We have grown because of the generosity of our donors and the efforts of our volunteers. We work with hundreds of social and case workers and have forged relationships that better serve those in need. Not only does PHA help the most needy people in the area, it also helps to reduce the waste going into our dumps and incinerators. Our most important goal, however, is to make sure that everyone who walks through our door is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Now aware of the need, I repeated the notice in our next bulletin, but this time was offered furniture. I made some more phone calls and found some more families who could benefit from furniture no longer needed by the donors. I repeated the notice for several months and was now receiving not only furniture and appliances, but other household goods such as blankets, lamps, and dishes.
My garage overflowed and it became obvious that not only was there a great need in the area for this kind of agency, but that I could no longer run it out of my house. Ozzy Properties offered to donate some warehouse space and Temple Emanuel gave me an office, and Project Home Again was born. I began making appointments with social service agencies all over the Merrimack Valley to let them know that PHA was there to help their clients. I met with local clergy to ask their help spreading the word to their congregations about what we were trying to do. Good luck led to newspaper articles that helped spread the word.
In the last six years, PHA has grown from a one woman operation to a staff of twenty-two regular volunteers serving thousands of families a year. We have grown because of the generosity of our donors and the efforts of our volunteers. We work with hundreds of social and case workers and have forged relationships that better serve those in need. Not only does PHA help the most needy people in the area, it also helps to reduce the waste going into our dumps and incinerators. Our most important goal, however, is to make sure that everyone who walks through our door is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Founder - Project Home Again
Project Home Again is a program affiliated with Temple Emanuel of Andover. Our warehouse is located at 439 S. Union Street, Lawrence, MA. For office information click here. Copyright © 2009 Project Home Again. All Rights Reserved.