The mission of Humble Design isn’t just furnishing homes. It’s also furnishing hope. With donated items and local volunteers, including many Microsoft employees, the nonprofit organization turns dwellings into dignified and welcoming homes that can change lives.
A family enjoying their new home with volunteers from Microsoft and Humble Design.
According to Tia Baker, director of operations for Humble Design Seattle, a home isn’t made up of the possessions inside, but what those possessions make possible. “It’s not the table and chairs that give families that safe, settled-in feeling we enjoy in our homes,” she says. “It’s the shared time of a meal at the table, a desk where children can do homework, or a warm bed where family members can rest and dream.”
During her years with a major law firm in Seattle, Baker felt helpless as she encountered the widespread homeless crisis. “I was doing well professionally, but I felt like my work lacked purpose. It didn’t make me feel fulfilled, and I come from a family that is adamant about giving back,” says Baker. “When I heard that Humble Design was looking to expand into Seattle, I made the switch in March 2018.”