Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty advisor Annie Wayland joins Furnish Hope’s 2026 Catwalk for a Cause, bringing her signature personality, a deeply personal belief in hope, and a whole lot of heart to one of Central Oregon’s most meaningful community events.
Ask Annie Wayland why she became an Ambassador of Hope for Furnish Hope’s Catwalk for a Cause, and she’ll give you the answer you might expect from Annie: she wanted to walk the runway. “I’m not going to lie about that,” she says. “I wanted to be up there, and I wanted to be all Annie Wayland.”
The opportunity to model, walk, pose and have a little fun caught her attention immediately, but what started with the sparkle of the catwalk quickly became something much more personal. Annie had known about Catwalk for a Cause for years and had watched friends and peers participate. Her connection to Furnish Hope changed after hearing the organization’s executive director speak at a Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty team meeting in Sunriver. Something about the mission stayed with her.
That is not especially surprising to anyone who knows Annie. She cares deeply about the people around her, and when something matters to her, she does not show up halfway. Whether she is helping a client buy a home, guiding someone through a sale, supporting a neighbor or rallying people around a local cause, Annie brings her whole heart to it.
Furnish Hope helps turn empty housing into furnished homes for people rebuilding their lives throughout Central Oregon. The organization provides furniture and household essentials to individuals and families who have secured housing but may be starting over with very little. For Annie, even the organization’s name struck a chord. Hope is something she has thought about for a long time.
Years ago, during a particularly difficult period in her own life, Annie read something about hope that she never forgot. The idea was that sometimes you understand hope most clearly after experiencing what it feels like to be without it. “Hope is what gets us up in the morning,” Annie says. “Hope of better. Hope of more. Hope of brighter. Hope of opportunity. Hope of, ‘It’ll be different. It’ll change. We’ve got this.’” That idea helped her understand what Furnish Hope offers in a different way. The people receiving help have already taken an enormous step. They have found housing and begun moving forward. What may still be missing are the simple, everyday things that make a space feel safe, personal and truly theirs.
What Makes a House Feel Like Home
Working in real estate, Annie spends a lot of time thinking about homes, but not always in terms of bedrooms, square footage or finishes. Her business is primarily based in Sunriver, where she often works with people buying vacation properties, second homes, and homes that may eventually become full-time residences. No matter the size or price of the property, she notices many of the same small details.
There is often a favorite mug in the cabinet, a photograph on a dresser, a particular chair someone always sits in or a place where family gathers at the end of the day. Those things may never appear in a property description, but they are often the things that make a house feel most like home. “There are all these little pieces that create this safe and private space,” Annie says. “That’s what Furnish Hope provides.” For someone walking into a newly secured apartment or house with almost nothing inside, those details can mean everything. “They’ve gotten the apartment. They’ve gotten the home. They’ve secured it,” Annie explains. “And then they go in and close that door, and there’s nothing in there.”
Furnish Hope helps fill in that next piece. A chair to sit in. A lamp to study beside. A table where a family can eat together. Somewhere to place a photograph. Maybe even that favorite mug.
For Annie, that is where her work in real estate and Furnish Hope naturally connect. In both, she is helping people move into a new chapter. Sometimes that means helping someone find the right property or guiding them through the sale of a longtime home. Other times, it means helping someone who has already secured housing create the feeling of home inside it. Different circumstances, same instinct: show up, care deeply and help people move forward.
In Sunriver, Annie sees those transitions happen again and again. A family may first purchase a vacation home so they can spend more time together. Years later, that home may become a full-time residence. Eventually, another life change may lead them somewhere new. “We’re all transitional,” she says. “We need something bigger. We need something smaller. Everybody’s always in transition.”
The circumstances of Furnish Hope clients may be very different, but the desire for dignity, safety and a place that feels like your own is universal.
The Mission Became Personal
Perhaps the biggest surprise for Annie has been how invested she has become in the organization itself. She has visited the Furnish Hope warehouse, watched volunteers unload trucks and talked with people spending their time building dressers and preparing household items for people they may never meet. “Every corner I look around is just this offering of help,” she says.
What initially sounded like a fun opportunity to walk a runway became a cause she genuinely wanted to support. And once Annie cares about something, she commits fully. Within about two and a half weeks of focusing on her campaign, she had raised $5,800 toward a $20,000 goal. She has shared videos, made phone calls, talked about Furnish Hope on social media and worked it into everyday conversations. Sometimes, she jokes, she calls someone to tell them something funny and then casually reminds them they should probably donate, too.
That enthusiasm is part of what makes Annie such a force in her community. She is not simply promoting an event. She wants people to understand why it matters, who it helps and how easy it can be to make a difference. She is also quick to point out that helping Furnish Hope does not have to mean writing a large check. Sometimes it starts with looking around your own house. “I want all of your stuff,” she says with a laugh.
For people moving, downsizing, decluttering, or simply realizing they no longer need certain household items, Annie hopes Furnish Hope becomes one of the first places that comes to mind. Furniture and other qualifying household essentials that no longer work in one home may be exactly what another person needs to begin settling into theirs. It is an especially natural connection to the real estate world, where moving often means deciding what stays, what goes and what will not make the trip to the next home. Something that has become unnecessary to one person could make an empty room feel welcoming to someone else.
Walking for Something Bigger
On October 24, Annie will join fellow Ambassadors of Hope for Kendall’s 2026 Catwalk for a Cause at Kendall Toyota of Bend. The event brings together members of the Central Oregon community for an evening of fashion, fundraising and support for Furnish Hope.
As for what Annie will wear, that may depend partly on how much she raises. She has invited her supporters to have some fun with the process. Reach one fundraising milestone and perhaps a cape makes an appearance. Raise enough, she jokes, and they may need to find her a jet pack.
It is unmistakably Annie, but underneath the humor is the reason she will be there. She cares about this community and the people in it, whether they are buying a home, selling one, settling into a new neighborhood or simply needing a little extra help to make an empty space feel like their own. Life can change quickly, and the person who needs help tomorrow may be someone we know, someone we love or someone who never imagined needing help at all.
“You’ll never know how dark Thursdays may be and how scary and bleak,” Annie says. “But by showing up and donating $25, buying a ticket, or taking that lamp or mirror or chair that doesn’t fit anywhere and donating it, what you’re doing is making that person’s day a little easier.”
Then she brings it back to something simple. “That’s the kind of world I want to live in.”