Immediately after our setback at the end of last week, Furniture Bank was staring at weeks of unmet furniture deliveries and pickups, affecting over 100 clients a week.
As an organization we draw inspiration from our belief that furniture plays a powerful, albeit silent, role in our lives. We are all indebted to the use of furniture to live fulfilling lives – just try studying for an exam, resting after a hard day’s work, preparing a meal, or raising a family. Without furniture, even mundane tasks are near impossible. By not being able to make furniture deliveries, our clients – many of whom are transitioning out of homelessness – would have been deprived of the dignity, security and stability associated with having a furnished home.
From the outpouring of support from our friends and partners in the community, we can be certain this belief in the power of furniture is widely recognized. Just 4 days into our fundraising campaign to overcome the $20,000 we lost from the theft, we’ve raised $16,000 from individual and corporate donors across the country.
We are also indebted to the services of Leon’s Furniture, 1-800-GOT-JUNK, Collins & Greig Cartage, 1-800-RID-OF-IT, Tallman Truck Centre, Shorncliffe Disposal Services and Elegant Kitchen Gallery, all of whom donated trucks and crew to ensure we make all our client deliveries this week. Thanks to their help, not a single household has been affected by last weekend’s theft.
Finally, we are incredible grateful to the many ordinary Canadians who have shared their messages of support on social media this week – their tweets helped get the message reverberating far and wide, and continue to encourage us to overcome this setback. We’ve embedded a small selection of them below:
Terrible story about the excellent charity @Furniture_Bank being hit by thieves. The Bank does great work. http://t.co/QTdp738zrX
— Metro Morning (@metromorning) March 2, 2015
Very upset to hear that our friends @Furniture_Bank, who give so much back to our communities, were robbed. Please show them your support! — North York Community (@nychonline) March 2, 2015
Sad to hear about the @Furniture_Bank robbery this weekend. Such an amazing #TO #charity. Learn more & support here: http://t.co/hLAZdnsvQG
— Kathleen Grace (@KathleenRGrace) March 2, 2015
Why do people steal from amazing charities!?! So sorry to hear the news @Furniture_Bank–sending you guys love! http://t.co/lY73vo2prt — Rudayna Bahubeshi (@Rudayna_B) March 2, 2015
@Furniture_Bank Great to see you have a fantastic support system in the community! Let us know how we can help!
— Social Enterprise TO (@SET_GTA) March 2, 2015
@analyticeye @BeGoodToronto @canadahelps I gave mine to @Furniture_Bank to help with their recent troubles. Sorry, fruit.
— Heidi Tee (@SneidiTee) March 4, 2015
@Furniture_Bank sad to hear the news today. stay positive. we’ll help spread the word about fundraising. #toronto #theft #socialenterprise — Get Reel (@projectgetreel) March 2, 2015
@Furniture_Bank thank you for everything Furniture Bank does to make our community better! #helpinghands
— Rob Paterson (@rjptoronto) March 2, 2015
My thoughts are with everyone @Furniture_Bank as they deal with the recent vandalism. Shame on those responsible! — Pam Cook (@Fabinthefad) March 2, 2015
@Furniture_Bank does great work, loved helping them in the past, I highly recommend you head to their donation page https://t.co/KMKE5M6afd
— Nyron Ali (@nyronius_monk) March 2, 2015
@TorontoStar Furniture bank is an incredible and generous organization working with people in great need. Outrage that they were target. — Jessica Farias (@jessicafariasch) March 3, 2015
@Furniture_Bank We’re sorry to hear of your troubles but overjoyed to see how your city supports y’all! Keep your chins up! #goodneighbours
— highJinx (@highJinxottawa) March 3, 2015
@Furniture_Bank We’re very happy to help, and we hope you get your trucks back up and running soon! — Alterna Savings (@alternasavings) March 5, 2015
@Furniture_Bank is a charity near and dear to my heart! If you have any unused furniture, please consider them! https://t.co/6UL6SRhtuN
— Jane Lockhart (@Jane_Lockhart) March 6, 2015
What an inspiring story from @Furniture_Bank about how the TO community came through with support! http://t.co/KhEPidUT6s — Shelley Zuckerman (@shellzuckerman) March 5, 2015
Toronto @Furniture_Bank was robbed this weekend, please help them get back to important work! https://t.co/MMllLtW4Pb pic.twitter.com/kqAR9jfE0N
— Paul Nazareth (@UinvitedU) March 3, 2015
