Movers For Moms® has a special meaning for one TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Employee.
BURLINGTON, VT – In mid-May, streets near several colleges in Burlington, VT, fill with sofas, tables, and mattresses left behind by hundreds of undergrads moving out of their apartments.
At the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK office on the outskirts of Burlington, General Manager Mike Szewczyk sees an opportunity in the piles of furniture left on the streets and sends out a crew to look for good-condition pieces that can be repurposed.
Szewczyk uses the end of the semester to replenish an inventory of reusable furniture on hand in the Burlington office. Working with COTS, the largest provider of housing and homelessness prevention in the state of Vermont, Two Men & Truck donates that furniture to families taking their first steps toward housing stability.
The TWO MEN AND A TRUCK collaboration with COTS is a Vermont take on the Movers for Moms® program, a tradition with the moving company since it was founded in the 1980s. At its core, Movers for Moms® assists moms and families in need. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK locations in the U.S. and Canada partner with various organizations to collect essential items and deliver them to women’s and family shelters and organizations throughout the springtime.
“We get great feedback from customers who want to do their part for the program,” said Kiernan Flynn, owner of the Burlington franchise. “A lot of times, folks who are moving have decent furniture that they don’t want to bring with them, but don’t want to toss out, either. When we tell them they can leave that furniture with us, and we’ll get it to a family who could use it, they get what Movers for Moms® is all about.”
By combining what customers leave behind, what college students toss to the curbside, and what other supportive local businesses donate, families transitioning into more permanent housing in northern Vermont can almost fully furnish their new homes.
Szewczyk knows better than most how helpful the Movers for Moms® program can be. He was once homeless himself.
ACCEPTING ASSISTANCE
Szewczyk runs point on the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK program for the Burlington office and talks about steps taken to build a local ecosystem of like-minded businesses that offer services or assistance to families in need. He praises his fellow employees who have embraced the Movers for Moms® spirit. He's thankful for customers who, once briefed on the program, agree to donate a piece of furniture and leave it behind on a move.
"Furniture is a big up-front cost," said Szewczyk. "For people moving into a new space, there's a lot of stress about what's needed to make the place feel like their own. We strive to relieve some of that stress for folks. They don't have to think about buying a couch, a mattress, a dresser, or even a television. That's a huge help.
The conversation becomes raw and emotional when he talks about being a father and about his young family once residing in a shelter run by COTS. He doesn't want to make the Movers for Moms® program about himself, but it's impossible to separate the motivation from the man.
"I always believed it was wrong to say 'give us some free stuff,'" he said. "I thought I could handle paying bills, having a home, and raising kids. But it didn't work out. I needed help."
The non-profit COTS program was founded in Burlington in the early 1980s to address an emerging homeless population that hasn't eased in the years since. It has expanded its offerings, operating a kitchen, working with local housing leaders to secure financial assistance and advocate for affordable housing, and providing shelters and housing facilities.
Szewczyk and his family found themselves in one of those shelters in the summer of 2024.
"It was not what I envisioned for myself or my kids," he said.
But turning to COTS for help was the right thing. Vermont's tight housing market can be unaffordable for many, and Szewczyk worked with a COTS housing navigation coordinator to find a permanent solution. He also started work at TWO MEN AND A TRUCK and immediately saw the possibility—and had knowledge of the need—for the Movers for Moms® program.
LASTING EFFECTS
After a couple of attempts at figuring out the role TWO MEN AND A TRUCK could play in the COTS program, Szewczyk refined the furnishing idea. With donations from customers and local businesses, and the curbside collection of college leave-behinds, the Burlington office stores an impressive amount of furniture.
COTS knows when to tap into TWO MEN AND A TRUCK as well, leveraging their services when a family is moving into a new space that requires furnishings.
To date, the program has helped half a dozen families move into furnished homes, but its effects go beyond that.
"It has given me a real purpose," said Szewczyk.
