When Emily Jo Manchester‑Sanden signed up to volunteer with the American Red Cross, she thought she was simply lending her time to a good cause. As the Executive Director of the Renesting Project, a volunteer-powered nonprofit furniture bank serving Northwest Louisiana, Emily Jo believes in leading by example.

“We rely on volunteers just like the Red Cross does,” she said. “The best way to get volunteers in this building is to be a volunteer myself.”

The Renesting Project provides basic furniture and essential household items free of charge to individuals and families emerging from crisis: domestic violence survivors, veterans, children, people with disabilities, individuals transitioning out of foster care or homelessness, those recovering from disasters like home fires and more. The Renesting Project exists to improve quality of life, and restore stability, dignity, and a sense of home for people in need.

Emily Jo learned about Sound the Alarm, the Red Cross’s year-round home fire safety initiative to install free smoke alarms in fire‑prone neighborhoods. For Emily Jo, who knows the devastation of home fires, it was the perfect match.

She showed up, met local volunteers, and worked alongside the Red Cross team in Shreveport to make homes safer from home fires. That single act of service caught the attention of Red Cross leaders, including Karen McCoy, Executive Director of the American Red Cross North Louisiana Chapter, who soon reached out to explore opportunities for deeper collaboration through the Community Adaptation Program (CAP).

Within CAP, the Red Cross partners with nonprofits addressing health, hunger, and housing—organizations deeply rooted in communities that face ongoing barriers even before disasters strike. These partners, in turn, join us during emergencies to help stabilize families quickly, lessen displacement, and reduce reliance on Red Cross services.

When Renesting joined the program, Karen asked about the organization’s greatest needs. Emily Jo shared the organization’s two biggest challenges: a shortage of mattresses and bed frames and limited transportation to reach clients. Their lone box truck was constantly on the move, making it difficult to schedule both donation pickups and client deliveries.

The Red Cross responded quickly, funding roughly 38 bed pieces, including mattresses and bed frames, a critical resource for Renesting clients. “Mattresses are our most requested item,” Emily Jo explained. “We never have enough. That support went a really long way.”

But the next gift would be transformational: a retired Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV), newly transferred to Renesting in December 2025.

“It’s been such a blessing,” Emily Jo said. “We have so many plans for it.”

The ERV will allow Renesting to deliver more “starter kits” to clients who cannot make it to the warehouse, including essential items such as a boxed mattress, bed frame, linens, towels, basic kitchen tools, hygiene products, and cleaning supplies. For families rebuilding after a disaster, transitioning from instability, or displacement from violence, these basics provide dignity and comfort.

The collaboration deepened during North Louisiana’s recent winter ice storm. Emily Jo and her husband Cory attended Red Cross “Just in Time” shelter training and staffed emergency shelters in Shreveport and Haughton.

“Even when nobody needed the shelter, we were happy to be there,” she said. “Partnership is so important in disasters. Everybody is affected, even if it’s just being stuck at home.”

Renesting also amplified the need for shelter workers with volunteers, board members, and advisory council members, reinforcing the idea that the people affected by winter storms are often the same people they serve every week.

“We are deeply thankful for the Renesting Project and the compassion they show our community every day,” said Karen McCoy. “Our missions align so closely—helping families recover, rebuild, and regain a sense of home—that partnering with them feels like a natural extension of our work at the Red Cross.”

Today, the Renesting Project continues to help families and individuals who are referred by one of their 60+ partner agencies, including the Red Cross.

“Not only can the Red Cross refer clients to us, but we can support the Red Cross with whatever we have,” Emily Jo said. “Partnership and stewardship are two of our core values. We’re just so happy to work together.”

What began with one volunteer experience has grown into a mission-driven collaboration delivering comfort, stability, and hope, one mattress, starter kit, and family at a time.