The first time Gwendolyn Maxwell volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul, her eyes filled with tears. Months later, on Saturday morning, the experience was almost like déjà vu: only this time, the tears were of joy.
Standing just outside the chapel in SVdP’s Phoenix dining room, Maxwell and 25 other volunteers handed out brand-new pillows to almost 400 guests. It was the culmination of a two-month long mission to collect and donate pillows to the homeless.
“I was volunteering here on Thanksgiving and stepped outside and saw dozens of people lying on the hard concrete,” she said. “God spoke to me and told me ‘Don’t cry about this; do something.’ That’s when the idea of the pillows hit me.”
Maxwell, who works at Grand Canyon University, spoke to coworkers about the idea and started telling friends and family about it on Facebook. The response was immediate. In total, she collected almost 700 pillows.
“I feel so blessed that all these people wanted to lend a hand,” she said. “Even groups from back home in New York supported me, especially the generous donation from the Drifters Inc. chapter there.”
Leading up to the event, she stood outside her home every Saturday with and SVdP collection box beside her, to try and collect the pillows.
“I was so determined to do this,” she said. “I knew this was my vision and my assignment.”
Bruce was one of the guests at the dining room on Saturday. He said the pillow would come in very handy as he would use it as back support while using his wheelchair.
“I don’t think anyone had thought of giving out pillows before,” he said. “We sometimes get blankets or other stuff, but never pillows, so I am very grateful.”
Some of the volunteers on Saturday were part of Maxwell’s newly founded outreach program, Angels at Rest. Others came from her Doxology Dance Ministry and others were from Luke Air Force Base.
Maxwell said Angels at Rest will continue to organize drives and distribute more pillows and perhaps sleeping bags as well.
“The experience was above and beyond any of my expectations,” she said. “Guests came up to me and told me how grateful they were and how they had never gotten a pillow.”
