XSS Hotels and Colwen Furnish Boys & Girls Club - Manchester
April 12, 2019
Manchester, NH - It was an eventful day recently at the Manchester Boys & Girls Club when 15 sofas and 10 lounge chairs arrived courtesy of XSS Hotels and Colwen Hotel Management of Manchester and Portsmouth, NH respectively. There was excitement in the air as the gently-used furnishings valued at between $10-15,000 was unloaded by Five Star FF&E and carried into the Union Street building.
It all came about when XSS Hotels and Colwen Owners Mark Stebbins and Leo Xarras decided to do some renovations at one of their upscale hotels. Sally and Mark Stebbins are longtime supporters of the Manchester Boys & Girls Club, and Sally spent many years as a member of their Board. Mark reached out to the Club’s CEO Diane Fitzpatrick to see if they had an interest in the furniture. Sight unseen, she leaped at the opportunity to get some new furnishings in to replace many worn-out sofas and chairs which seat roughly 500 kids per day.
Within days of that call, Diane, along with Ken Neil, the Chief Operating Officer, and Natalie Jutras the Director of Development, gathered at the building’s loading dock awaiting the furniture’s arrival. Huge smiles filled their faces as the carefully-wrapped furniture was temporarily stored pending placement. But, the furniture didn’t sit there for long – by the following morning, the sofas and chairs had replaced multiple shabby pieces all over the clubhouse to the delight of the youth.
“We were so overwhelmed by all the beautiful furniture that was delivered. The expressions on the children’s faces were priceless, and it was amazing that the colors actually matched our decor” said Diane Fitzpatrick. The color match wasn’t planned, but the joy of giving to the Manchester clubhouse was. One child saw the arriving seating and cried out “Hey, look our home has new furniture.” For Diane, Ken, and Natalie, it was a satisfying moment of gratitude. Diane added “Thanks for making our club house look like home.”
