At hearts+homes, ‘we are in the business of happy tears’

Out of Kristen Bowen’s grief after losing both her parents, an idea has sprouted into a nonprofit ministry dedicated to furnishing homes for families emerging from a crisis.

Bowen is the founder and president of hearts+homes, a nonprofit based in Cranbury, which serves families throughout Mercer and Middlesex County who are underemployed, single moms, refugees, and emerging from other crises such as domestic violence.

The organization takes gently used furnishings and home goods that are donated to them and upcycle the furniture donated to be reused in the furnishing of a new home or living space for a family in need and emerging out of a crisis.

“It literally was an idea and it felt like … something God placed in my heart,” Bowen said, adding that this year celebrates four years as a nonprofit. “We are in the business of happy tears.

“The very first thing we started out in was an 8 by 16 storage container outside and then about two or three weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic it was full. The Princeton Alliance Church was so generous and supportive of this vision we had for this new ministry.”

With Princeton Alliance Church in Plainsboro Township moving online during the pandemic, the church had empty rooms not being used and opened them for hearts+homes.

The nonprofit did not do any marketing to make people aware of what they did. The volunteers, furniture donations, and growth of hearts+homes came from word of mouth and had a grassroots type of beginning, Bowen explained.

A major heart of hearts+homes is our volunteers, she added.

“Coming out of the pandemic there were some adjustments made to the ministry but really the model has not changed since day one,” Bowen said. “We care for families that are in need, but what makes us a little different is we care about what is going on with the families that are sharing the furniture with us.

“Particularly if there is a family that has experienced a loss. Because that is how we were born.”

Bowen’s referring to how hearts+homes was born out of her parents passing away within a little more than a year of each other and she along with her brother and sister needed to rehome their furnishings.

“We worked together to do that and in doing that we found a lot of healing when we knew things were going to go to help people,” she said.

A building at 30 North Main St. in Cranbury is where home base is for hearts+homes. The nonprofit is equipped with furnishings needed to conduct its turn-key installations out-fitting new living spaces, kitchens, bathrooms, and rooms.

There are donated kitchen items in the building such as dish sets, cups, blenders, pots and pans, and bathroom items that include towel and wash cloth sets. Additionally, there are headboards, bedroom chests and dressers, picture frames and message frames, lamps, chairs and many other items to furnish a fresh start for a family.

A room can be turned into a stage room to map out living spaces they are furnishing for families, there is a room to upcycle furniture donated, a room with children’s items that include stuffed animals, and there is a receiving room where donated furniture comes in and the refurbished furniture is sent out.

Volunteers come into the nonprofit on Tuesdays and Thursday each week to refurbish furniture. Hearts+homes will do the turn-key installations on Saturdays, and they can take up to eight hours to complete.

Families of homes and living spaces they are helping go out for the day while volunteers begin work on installation of furnishings.

“When we have finished and completed the installations and families come back after being away it is just awesome seeing [their] reactions when we do the reveal,” said Andrew Idavoy, member of the nonprofit’s board of directors and development team.

He noted that the nonprofit has more than 50 volunteers now and the first volunteers came from Princeton Alliance Church.

Hearts+homes in four years have provided installations and support to more than 124 families. Their service as volunteers has impacted more than 300 adults and children.

They have completed more than 112 complete bedding packages, completed more than 175 deliveries, more than 200 pickups and volunteers racked up 15,000 hours of service.

This summer brought welcome news and a needed gift to hearts+homes which has been making doorstep deliveries and furniture pickups with Princeton Alliance Church’s box truck.

On June 27, Danny Gokey, a three-time Grammy nominee and American Idol alum, paid hearts+homes a visit to announce that they would be receiving their own box truck through his nonprofit “Better Than I Found It.”

“What I think makes this ministry unique is not just what they do as far as just furnishing homes and putting a special touch on it, it is giving people dignity and honor,” he said.

“I thought it was so special where it started too. How it started from Kristen walking through a very dark season and how she did not allow that to take her down, but she was able to look and see how she can take it and turn it into something positive.”

Hearts+homes not only received a box truck, but tool equipment and supplies gifted by Gokey’s fans to aid in their efforts. Hearts+homes had reached out to “Better Than I Found It” in 2023 and their giveback program and reached out again in 2024.

Gokey, a Christian music singer, founded “Better Than I Found It” based in Nashville to support other nonprofits making a difference in their own communities and said he wants people to experience love.

“We heard that [hearts+homes] had been planning to get a box truck of their own which they need to do the home deliveries,” he said. “For four years they have been wanting to get one [and to say], ‘hey we can come in and get that finished” … is just a joy.

“I love doing this because it pours so much back into me. It keeps that hope alive that not all is bad.”

The hearts+homes box truck wasn’t able to be present during Gokey’s visit but reached its destination at the local nonprofit in August.

Bowen described the donated box truck from Gokey and Better Than I Found as a “game changer” for hearts+homes.

“Princeton Alliance Church has been so generous and has allowed us to borrow their box truck since the very beginning,” she said, adding that it is an incredible blessing. “Not having your own [box truck], there is a lot of coordination that goes into everything.

“For us to physically have access to a truck at any time opens the door to us being able to serve families more quickly, we can serve more families in general, and we also then have the ability to load the truck anytime we want to.”

Hearts+homes, a year-round nonprofit ministry, is fully volunteer based as people are not paid including Bowen and the board of directors. The nonprofit is able to cover its rent at its home on 30 North Main St. through recurring monthly giving.

“So, we have folks from our area and from all across the country who have embraced our mission and vision. Some give $10 a month, and some give much more,” she said. “At this point our rent is covered by monthly recurring giving that comes through our website. That is just a huge answer to prayer and [a] giant blessing because rent is our biggest fixed expense.”