News 12 at 11 o'clock, August 13, 2008

AUGUSTA, Ga. --- Mattresses for a new bed, a washer and a new dryer and a few other household goods are all in a day's work for Reginald Johnson, Operations Coordinator for the Augusta Urban Ministries Furniture Bank, located at 303 Hale Street in Augusta.

"Most of the donations we receive are good quality donations," says Johnson. "In turn it makes us feel good that we are able to help other people with these donations."

The group picks up donated furniture and delivers it as well. On Wednesday they delivered furniture to a family that undoubtedly needed it. The displaced and homeless family with eleven children in Burke County was the latest receipient of Augusta Urban Ministries goodwill. The family is living in an undisclosed location but Augusta Urban Ministries Director, Rick Herring agreed to talk to us about their situation and why his group felt compelled to step in and help.

"This was probably the most gratifying thing I've been involved in yet,"says Herring. "We had two dressers, we needed five so we needed to try to find three dressers and so far we've located and received about 20 dressers."

Augusta Urban Ministries doesn't do good deeds for "show" they do it for another reason. On Wednesday when those Burke County children received their furniture Herring says the gratitude was apparent.

"These children were living in very meager circumstances. Their desire to have basic furniture is far beyond something that you or I can comprehend so for them to have thier own furniture may be something they experienced for the first time in thier life. To help people as we characterize as the least among us is a very gratifying thing."