Ashley Turnbo’s gift was made possible by The Studio, a Dallas pop-up store run by Dwell with Dignity.<\/p>\n
DALLAS \u2014 It\u2019s been about five months, but Ashley Turnbo still can\u2019t believe she\u2019s here: making breakfast with her own pans, in her own kitchen, in her own heaven on earth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just woke up and God was like, \u2018here you go,\u2019\u201d Turnbo said.<\/p>\n
Her divine delivery, came, in large part, from The Studio, a pop-up design shop in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Open only a month, The Studio is operated by Dwell with Dignity, a non-profit that seeks to improve the lives of the vulnerable.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the families that we are serving are moving out of the shelter into their home with just a blow-up mattress and very bare necessities,\u201d said Dwell with Dignity’s Teresa Charnock. \u201cSometimes, not even the items they need to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the kind of situation Turnbo, a single mother of four, never expected.<\/p>\n
A few years ago, Turnbo lost her marriage and her job all within about a year and a half.<\/p>\n
Eventually, she and the kids found a new place, but had almost nothing to their name.<\/p>\n
Like her home, Turnbo felt pretty empty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need some help,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m stuck. I feel like, I\u2019m just in a bad place.\u201d<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t afford to fix or furnish anything, afraid that doing so would take resources away from her kids.<\/p>\n
So, at times, they lived in unfavorable conditions with rats and ants.<\/p>\n
Then, late last year, Dwell with Dignity showed up at her door.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just right on time,\u201d Turnbo said. \u201cIt was at a time when I felt like I needed to get out of here. It didn\u2019t feel like home any more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dwell with Dignity brought life to the living room and warmth to the walls, cookware for the kitchen and bedding for the bedrooms.<\/p>\n
Floor to ceiling and wall to wall, they filled every room and every need all for free.<\/p>\n
To fund this work, every year, for one month, Dwell with Dignity opens The Studio, selling designer furniture to the public at half the cost.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the non-profit\u2019s biggest fundraiser, paving the way for even bigger blessings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never had nothing this nice,\u201d Turnbo said. \u201cI\u2019ve always felt like my kids deserved this kind of stuff, but I haven\u2019t been able to give it to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turnbo said they\u2019re all happier and healthier and it\u2019s given her the courage to make even bigger changes.<\/p>\n
She plans to enroll in college to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when I\u2019m not looking for happiness, I just feel it,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s something different about our space. It just feels like love and happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n
All made possible by people who chose to give, because changing the lives of others is no accident. It happens by design.<\/p>\n