Meet Derrick Sides

The Barnabas Network

“Furniture Changing Lives”

How did your organization start?

The Barnabas Network began in 2005 as a grassroots community response to Hurricane Katrina. Local volunteers and church groups noted the gap in services being provided to relocated storm survivors. They had food, clothes, and temporary housing, but what about furniture? Their immediate response highlighted the value in providing this type of assistance to friends and neighbors in need of a helping hand. The next year, in 2006, The Barnabas Network, a 501c3 nonprofit furniture bank was established to provide essential home furnishings to individuals and families on the path to self-sufficiency. The rest is at the same time history, present, and future.

What issue are you addressing?

Poverty. We are the Triad’s only nonprofit furniture bank, and we proudly serve on the front lines of making the dream of stable housing a reality for people at a critical time in their lives. A houseful of furniture is a hand up, a burden lifted, so that our neighbors can focus on thriving and fully breaking the cycle of poverty.

Where did your passion for this cause come from?

With a background in the arts I’m drawn to the beauty and functionality of furniture. Each piece comes to us with its own history, story, and unique set of circumstances that brought it to our door. Similarly, I’m driven by the inner beauty and potential of every life we are able to change. Each one has their own history, story, and unique set of circumstances that brought them to our door. At Barnabas, we get the wonderful opportunity to send both furniture and friends back out into the world together, to create new lives, new memories, and new possibilities.

Why is your work so important for Greensboro?

The Barnabas Network is the only nonprofit furniture bank in the Piedmont Triad. Our service is unique and essential. On average, it costs $3,500 to furnish a two-bedroom apartment with the basic furniture and housewares needed to set up a functional home. For a family just transitioning out of homelessness, this dollar amount is a mighty hurdle -- and the joy of having a place of one’s own is quickly diminished when everyone is sleeping and eating on the floor. We take the financial burden off our clients’ shoulders at a tender time by providing these essential items at no cost.

What are you most excited for as it relates to FF10?

I’m excited to be part of such a dynamic cohort with a collective commitment to making Greensboro and the world a better place through ideas and connections. This is an amazing opportunity for Barnabas to enter its next phase propelled by the wealth of lessons and coaching offered to me through FF10. For me, FF10 is an unparalleled chance to not only tell our story, but also to find and define our role in the story of what comes next for Greensboro.

What have you already learned from the process?

I’ve already benefited immensely from my FF10 experience to date. Specifically, in regards to our environmental angle, I’ve received wonderful coaching in the logistics involved with shaping our reach-out message to potential corporate sponsors.

What do you hope to get out of FF10?

I often find that life's greatest lessons, connections, and revelations come when we least expect them. So, I’m here with an open mind and heart, grateful to soak up all the information and guidance generously afforded to us through my time with FF10. There will be a light bulb, an “aha!” moment, and I’m excited to learn what that will be.