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Many Hands Make Light Work

On June 4, Villagers received the email: “Seeking Assistance. Moving to New Office.” The number of Villagers who answered the call are too many to list in this article. Eight Villagers showed up Tuesday, June 10, for a three-hour shift to pack up the old office. Peter Lamendola was one of them. On Wednesday, another eight Villagers—seven new faces plus Peter again—came to work another three-hour shift.

Thursday was move-in day. Volunteers began pouring in at 9:30 in the morning. By the end of the day, more than a dozen Villagers—yes, Peter, again!—got everything out of the old place and into the new. They packed and unpacked. They built desks, bookcases, cabinets and chairs - lots and lots of chairs. They set up the kitchen and stashed bathroom supplies.

Friday was another day of the same, with yet another crew of 10 to 12 Villagers, this time sans Peter. Peter took his well-earned day off to join the Hiking Group on a 3.5-mile trek into the Big Santa Anita Canyon, along the wash to Sturtevant Falls. 

Another Village volunteer was Mary Gandsey. Mary joined the Village just three months ago, but that didn’t stop her from jumping in with both feet. When she joined, Gary Smith introduced himself and offered to help her navigate Village offerings. The two of them worked the shift together. “Gary and I made a really good team assembling chairs. I love this kind of work. There were a lot of people there I’d never met before. It was so interesting to learn about everyone’s different life experiences,” Mary said.

According to Peter and the other volunteers, credit for the smooth transition goes to Nathan and Hannah. “Nathan and Hannah did a great job in planning. They were very organized. Everyone had a task. We knew what to do.” 

Actually, the entire office staff, Nathan, Hannah, Pablo, and Katie all did an amazing job with planning, logistics, assembling furniture, packing, unpacking and moving items between offices—all while carrying on the usual tasks and responsibilities behind the scenes. 

Monday morning the office was set up, and (mostly) ready for business as usual. The only glitch was setting up new phone and internet connections, which took longer than anticipated.

“Moving an entire office can be a daunting task,” reflected Nathan. “I’m amazed at the number of people who freely gave their time and energy to make this move a success. The number of people who helped is truly a testament to how much the Village means to so many.”

“It was an unbelievable feeling to look around and see Villagers, staff, community volunteers, and business partners working side-by-side,” said Executive Director Katie Brandon. “I’m thrilled we were able to expand our capacity. We have a larger conference room that’s flexible for ping pong, art exhibits and other programs. The staff have their own space. I have my own space and we have a Village Commons for casual group meetings.”

Katie was also proud that the Village was able to help the community. “We put out a notice that we were going to have excess furniture. We were able to offer Flintridge Center chairs and a desk, and donate a bookcase to the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center. It felt good. In one small way, we were able to help the Temple,” Katie said, referring to the fact that the Temple building was destroyed by the Eaton Fire in January.

The Village office moved to Suite 113, in the same building as the old office in the Flintridge Center. All are encouraged to stop by and check it out. A job well done by all!