The San Diego chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is hosting a donation drive for Humble Design, a nonprofit that serves families and veterans emerging from homelessness by transforming an empty house or apartment into a fully furnished home.

The one-day event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 7 at Blythe Interiors, 9445 Farnham St., Suite 102 in Kearny Mesa.

“We are looking for contributions of new or gently used furniture suitable for small apartments, home goods and gift cards to major retailers,” said Shannon Rice, ASID liaison to Humble Design. “We also welcome cash contributions, which will be used to help support ASID’s ‘Day of Joy,’ creating a home for a Humble Design client this October.

“We will have volunteers to help unload the vehicles, and donors are invited to stay for complimentary doughnuts,” she said, adding that a list of the most-needed items is available on the Humble Design San Diego website under “Take Action.”

In addition to Blythe Interiors, which is providing space for the collection event, corporate sponsors for this event include Design Logistics and the Yost-Quesada team at Douglas Elliman.

Humble Design has furnished more than 11,000 homes across five cities since its founding in Detroit in 2009. It has served clients locally since 2018, helping more than 1,500 San Diegans — including more than 800 children — to begin the next hopeful chapter of their lives. Humble Design San Diego recently completed its 500th  home for a local family, according to Laura Lavoie, executive director of Humble Design San Diego.

A recent study by The Homelessness Hub, an applied research center at UC San Diego, found Humble Design effective in empowering people to break the cycle of homelessness.

“Without receiving the services of Humble Design, more than 25 percent of San Diegans who exit homelessness and obtain stable housing return to homelessness within two years,” said Lavoie. “With Humble Design, less than 2 percent do. We help 98 percent of families stay in their new homes with dignity and love,” she said.

The local ASID chapter has an ongoing relationship with Humble Design.

“When we learned about Humble Design’s mission a few years ago, we knew that there was a natural affinity between our two nonprofit organizations,” said Rice, former president of the San Diego chapter of ASID. “ASID believes ‘design impacts lives,’” said Rice. “Using our professional skills to create beautiful, dignified homes for formerly homeless families and individuals is the ultimate impact,” she said, noting that ASID San Diego will collaborate with Humble Design on its fourth annual design project this year.

“Our successful collaboration resulted in national recognition in the ASID 2025 National Awards,” added Rice. “Humble Design was honored with the Community Impact of the Year Award, recognizing ‘the transformative impact of design.’”

To find out more about ASID San Diego, go to casd.asid.org; for more details on Humble Design, visit humbledesign.org/sandiego.