Area residents' homes filled with furniture through program

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Christmas came early this year for Las Vegas resident Verneta Kerbo.

Kerbo was one of 35 valley residents selected to receive a houseful of free furniture as part of Walker Furniture's 13th annual Home for the Holidays program.

"I was so excited after I found out, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat a decent meal," she said. "I think I've been crying since I found out. The furniture is gorgeous and it matches."

As part of Home for the Holidays, friends and family members of those in need write letters nominating their loved ones to be chosen to receive furniture. A preliminary committee sorts through the letters and passes the best along to the executive committee, which selects the winners.

The program began 13 years ago with furniture deliveries to 12 families. Since then, the number of families selected has grown each year.

Walker Furniture President Larry Alterwitz said that this year, the Home for the Holidays committee received thousands of letters.

"This year was the biggest we've had for letters," he said. "We got thousands, and there were so many deserving candidates. The selection committees really had their work cut out for them."

Kerbo's daughter, Susan Herman, nominated her mother. Herman said she had seen segments about the Home for the Holidays program on the news in past years, and decided her mother was a worthy candidate.

For the past 2 1/2 years, Kerbo has had custody of her youngest daughter's four children. While in their parents' care, Kerbo's four granddaughters had been removed from the home due to neglect on two occasions.

"My mom took custody to keep the girls from going to Child Haven or foster care. They moved in with nothing," Herman said. "For 2 1/2, years they all lived in a two-bedroom condo, then just last month they moved into this house."

Herman didn't find out that her mother had been selected as a Home for the Holidays recipient until two days before the furniture was delivered on Dec. 21. "I started crying when Patti called and told me," Herman said. "Then I called my mom and asked her how attached she was to her furniture."

Kerbo was shocked to learn that she was going to receive a houseful of new furniture.

"I bawled -- it was the only reaction I could get out. I couldn't even talk," she said. "Year after year, I've seen Home for the Holidays on TV. I always thought, 'Gosh, those people are so lucky -- a whole houseful of furniture.'

"This was totally out of the blue -- I was not expecting it," Kerbo said.

Patti Gerace, director of marketing for Walker Furniture, said the store purchases all of the furniture donated through the Home for the Holidays program.

"The vendors help us by giving it to us at cost, and sometimes they pay for shipping," she said.

Gerace added that the furniture donated this year will hold a combined worth of at least "a couple hundred thousand dollars," though the total won't be set until all the furniture is delivered. That's because the needs of each family are evaluated differently depending on the number of people in the household and the amount of furniture the household can accommodate.

Each household receives basic furniture, including couches, tables and chairs, as well as bedroom furniture, including beds, mattresses, dressers and night stands.

"It really changes based on the number of children in each household," Gerace said.

In the first six Home for the Holidays deliveries Walker Furniture completed, 38 children were members of the households. Gerace said one of the most important things is to make sure everyone in the household has a bed, whether bunk beds or single beds.

Mayor Oscar Goodman called the Home for the Holidays program wonderful and said it is an important program for the city, and the entire valley.

"I am grateful to Walker Furniture for their terrific contribution to the community," he said.

Alterwitz said Home for the Holidays is one of the most important things Walker Furniture does all year.

"It gives us such a sense of joy and happiness to be doing something for those in need and giving back to the community," he said.

This year's recipients also received a free holiday dinner from Sonio's Cafe, and Walker Furniture employees organized an in-house toy drive to benefit Home for the Holidays families. Walker Furniture's visitors and customers also were invited to participate in the toy drive.