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Furloughed federal worker Katrina Ksander turned her community’s pool house into a pantry, helping neighbors with food, diapers, and hope during the shutdown.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Inside the Landsdowne Community Pool House, shelves are stacked with sauce, soups, beans even diapers and period products.
The mastermind behind it, Katrina Ksander a furloughed federal employee. When the government shutdown left her without a paycheck, she decided she wasn’t going to wait for help, she was going to create it.
“There’s a lot of people here who are still working but not getting paid, in addition to a lot of people who are like myself who are completely furloughed,” Ksander said.
Inspired by a friend’s organization, she decided to launch a pantry for her neighbors.
She put out a call for help, and the response came fast. She says donations poured in, along with volunteers.
“Anything I ask for, a ton of volunteers immediately help,” she said.
Neighbors who had never met before are now friends, all working to support one another.
“It’s just very sad, so I’m doing what I can to help,” one volunteer said.
“It’s just so cool to see how many people have come and helped,” another added.
Those receiving help are just as moved.
“They come in and they break down in tears because they said they didn’t know what they were going to do,” Ksander said. “They’re working, and they’re not getting paid, and they didn’t know what they were going to do.”
What started as a pantry has become something more, a place of connection.
“The unexpected joy from this that I had no idea was going to happen is that people have been coming to get stuff, but they end up staying,” Ksander said. “We’re hanging out and we’re chatting and we’re just being a community and being neighbors, and that’s been really, really cool.”
At a time when so much feels uncertain, Ksander says one thing is clear, this community has each other’s backs.
“I feel like I’m doing something right,” she said. “The government’s not taking care of us, and with the shutdown, we don’t know when it will be. I can’t sit around waiting for them to do it, so we’re taking care of each other.”
Their motto: Take what you need, leave what you can.
If you’d like to donate, she has created an Amazon wish list with what they need for the pantry.
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