Impact in Practice

What happens when a community keeps showing up.

Since 2015, GG's House has helped move donated goods, food, practical support, volunteer time, and community relationships where they can be useful. Numbers show the scale of that work. Stories show what it has meant to people. Records from outside GG's House show that others have seen it too.

The proposed campus could give this work more room. It is not where the work begins.

GG's House volunteers and community members holding donated coats inside a community clothing space — Community members and useful goods together · GG's House photograph

Current organizational snapshotAugust 2026

No paid employeesCurrent organizational fact

Volunteer-runCurrent operating model

Pallets and boxes of donated goods filling a delivery truck during GG's House service activity — Historical service at scale · GG's House photograph · The pictured load is not used to calculate the food figure.

Dated Scale

One documented month shows the work already operating at scale.

GG's House reported distributing approximately 10,623 pounds of food during December 2020. This is a record from one historical month, not a claim about today's exact weekly volume.

10,623approximately pounds of food · December 2020

Food is only one part of the record. Clothing, hygiene supplies, household goods, medical equipment, school supplies, holiday support, and other useful items have also moved through GG's House toward families, seniors, local organizations, and community needs.

GG's House year recap · January 2021

Resource Stewardship

One donation can serve more than one purpose.

In November 2023, McKenzie Services documented what happened after it offered GG's House food-preparation gloves that needed a useful destination. GG's House matched the inventory to several practical uses.

A GG's House volunteer unloading boxes of donated goods from a vehicle — Useful goods in motion · GG's House photograph · This is not identified as the McKenzie glove donation.

A business donation reached GG's HouseFood-preparation gloves were offered for redistribution instead of disposal.

2 boxes stayed with public food distributionGG's House retained them for food given to the public.

9 boxes supported a church meal programThe gloves were directed to a church that regularly prepared community meals.

1 box supported a local small businessThe remaining box went to a small food business where it could reduce a practical operating cost.

One business donation reached several destinations because someone took time to understand what the goods were and where they could be useful. That is practical stewardship: useful resources moving toward useful work.

Independent source · McKenzie Services · November 1, 2023 · Read the documented donation story (opens in a new tab)

Human Outcomes

Help can become participation. Participation can become contribution.

Micheal · Documented in 2025

A meaningful role grew alongside greater stability.

Micheal first came to GG's House during a period when he needed practical support and greater housing stability. During the May 2025 move into the current Forest Grove location, he began showing up to help. By November, GG's House recorded that he had secured housing and was looking for work. It also recorded the role he had chosen inside GG's House: preparing day-bag food and coffee, listening to people who came through the door, and helping load and unload donated resources.

His story is not a requirement or a formula. It documents practical support, continued connection, and a meaningful place to contribute.

Practical supportMay 2025 moveHousing securedContinued contribution

Published anonymously · March 2023

Continued connection became something she could offer others.

One woman stayed connected with GG's House during about a year without stable housing. GG's House documented ongoing check-ins, a place where she could be heard, and help navigating available resources.

She later moved through transitional housing into permanent housing. Afterward, she returned to volunteer and helped other people understand housing programs.

Her story records both what she received from GG's House and what she later chose to contribute.

GG's House newsletters · March 2023 and November 2025 · Vicki C. letter · 2020

Community Participation

The work is also visible in who keeps participating.

People participate in different ways. They pick up and unload donations, prepare food bags, organize clothing, help at events, listen, make introductions, teach skills, and return week after week.

Tom is one example of that continuity. He began volunteering in early 2020 and continued helping with weekly pickups, loading, and unloading into his nineties. GG's House reported that he retired from the work at age 91 on his doctor's advice.

Another form of participation began in December 2024, when a trained interview team spoke with 50 people connected to GG's House and gathered more than 70 hours of stories and project work. STAGES Performing Arts Youth Academy used those community voices to produce the 2026 world premiere of Catch Me When I Fall.

Dec. 2024interviews began at GG's House

50people interviewed

70+hours of stories gathered

GG's House newsletter · December 2021 · Catch Me When I Fall project history · 2024-2026 (opens in a new tab)

Four people seated around a table outside during a GG's House Thanksgiving gathering. — People gathered during Thanksgiving service · 2024 · GG's House photograph

A performer rehearsing Catch Me When I Fall while another participant observes — *Catch Me When I Fall* rehearsal · 2026 · GG's House project photograph

Second Chance Treasures

Responsibility put into practice now.

Second Chance Treasures is an active part of GG's House. The secondhand shop keeps useful goods in circulation and creates a real setting for practicing everyday responsibilities.

The emphasis is practical: showing up, caring for the space, organizing inventory, preparing items for display, interacting with customers, working with other people, and following tasks through.

Inventory organization
Preparing items for display
Customer interaction
Task follow-through
Workplace habits
Responsibilities and expectations

Second Chance Treasures has limited volunteer-supported hours that can change. Call GG's House before making a special trip.

Current activity · August 2026

Outside Proof

Other organizations have seen the work.

GG's House should not be the only voice describing its impact. Along with the McKenzie Services record and the STAGES project history above, these outside sources document how the work has been used and observed.

Historical third-party confirmation

County Human Services staff thank-you

An undated historical staff thank-you sheet records GG's House donations being used to help families in a human-services setting. One staff member wrote, “You brought so much joy to these families!”

Signed letter · June 8, 2026

Gaston Rural Fire District

Fire Chief Dave Halley documented field support during the Lee Falls Fire, practical items for local events and emergency response, housing-resource help, and surplus reuse.

Read the signed letter →

Three public-safety officers standing beside donated children's coats prepared for community use — Public-safety officers with donated children's coats · GG's House community partnership photograph

Additional signed letters from Cornelius Fire Department, Nestucca Rural Fire Protection District, the Washington County Sheriff's Office, and Oregon State Representative Darcey Edwards are available in Resources.

What This Proves

Current work is the reason the future vision can be evaluated seriously.

The record is visible in resources that reached several useful destinations, people who stayed connected, volunteers who kept returning, and outside organizations that documented what they saw.

The proposed campus is not presented as proof of impact. It is an opportunity to expand the capacity of work that already exists-from practical service and community participation to learning, responsibility, and connection.

The buildings are the opportunity. People are the purpose.

Give to GG's House

Support the permanent-home effort.

Open the secure Givebutter page → Review the Evidence

Keep examining the record.

Open Resources →

Historical figures are dated to their source period. Current organizational facts are labeled as of August 2026.

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Whether you have an hour, a skill, a trade, or simply a willingness to help, tell us a little about yourself.

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