Sometimes, things just work out.

According to United Way Executive Director Sally Love, that’s exactly how the organization acquired its new home.

“It’s serendipity in the world. It just kind of happened,” Love said.

The United Way has been bouncing from office to office for more than a decade, and for the first time, the organization has bought its own office located on 15^th Street in Washington. Love said she’s excited to finally have a place the United Way can call home.

“We’ve been in five places in 15 years. You know every three years we had to move somewhere else,” Love said. “It was time to have a home.”

When Literacy Volunteers moved out of the MidEast Commission building, they didn’t have room for the United Way, according to Love.

“We were in the MidEast Commission building on (U.S. Highway) 264 across from Food Lion. Everybody moved out of there. The Literacy Volunteers and United Way were partners in that building. … Literacy Volunteers moved, and we moved home — to my home,” Love said.

Love said her own home turned into United Way’s temporary office for four months. “It was very crowded. The refrigerator and the cat enjoyed it,” Love laughed. “It wasn’t the best place to be. It’s better to go to work to get things done.”

Love said she kept an eye out for a new place, and when she found the building the United Way will now call home, she asked the owner if he’d be willing to sell it. He surprisingly said yes.

Several years ago, Love explained that the organization received an unexpected, generous monetary gift from an individual who passed away, which assisted in the new office space for the United Way.

Love hopes that the new location will help spread the word about the United Way and what it aims to do in the community.

“Good place for traffic, for exposure. Good to be present in town where people see you and figure out where you are.

“I don’t think people are aware of the United Way that much. General public may hear of it in some kind of way, but they really aren’t aware of it. … It’s going to help to have a physical presence,” Love said.

Love also said the nonprofit is collaborating with other groups in the community on future projects to help better the community, and she is looking forward to the year ahead.

“It’s going to be great year,” Love said.