After years of study on how best to use our Albany Provincial House into the future, the Assembly voted to let go of the Provincial House, given its size and the expense of maintaining it. The province is now in the process of turning the building over to Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese. The Albany Province Leadership Team did a masterful job of finding new homes that met the retirement and medical needs of the more than 60 sisters living at the Provincial House.
As these moves were being completed, Sister Kate Arseneau, CSJ was asked to put together an inventory of all the furniture, equipment and supplies in the house. When she finished the inventory, the team asked her to find homes for it all. The task was quite the challenge…what could we do with 45 hospital beds, more than 100 regular beds, 150+ dressers, 150+ recliners, etc. etc.?
Sister Kate mapped out a plan for herself, and one by one, she began contacting and meeting with nonprofits we know: Joseph’s House and Shelter in Troy, Troy Area United Ministries, the Capital District Furniture Bank, Code Blue Shelters, PACE, Sisters of Mercy, Daughters of Charity and others. She was thrilled to meet with these people and to be able to tell them that we had what they needed…all they had to do was set a date and come and pick it up.
As Sister Kate made plans for the pickups, the maintenance and housekeeping employees at the Provincial House helped her to move, consolidate and reorganize the items. Her biggest challenge was finding a place to donate the 45 hospital beds, tray tables, Geri Chairs, extensive linens and nightstands. She spent time contacting nonprofits that look for medical supply donations. All she asked of them was to come and pick the items up, knowing that the cost of picking this furniture up was prohibitive.
Finally, she began a relationship with a nonprofit called “Food for the Poor.” In late March, they brought “containers” to the Provincial House to be filled with medical equipment and supplies. They were brought to New York City and placed on a barge ship that will deliver them to Jamaica. This pickup involved an enormous amount of planning to make sure that we used every inch of space in the containers. Sister Kate was thrilled with this contact and more thrilled knowing that our beds and medical equipment are going to very poor people who frequent clinics in Jamaica.
