At Bridging Minnesota, struggling families can receive furniture, household goods

A Minnesota nonprofit is helping struggling families furnish their homes.

Xcel Energy may be a public utility, but for three hours at Bridging Minnesota, they're providing a much different kind of service.

Kerry Klemm is among the dozens of Xcel employees that will build hundreds of dressers.

"People come up ready to roll up their sleeves and bring the enthusiasm and a lot of conversation and connections," Klemm said. "That really helps us put the customer at the center of what we're doing and think empathetically about what customers might be going through."

Bridging welcomes roughly 120 families every week to its warehouse. Manager Diana Dalsin says the organization needs enough donations to fill 15 truckloads every week to meet demand.

"If your living room is empty and you don't ha