Our social purpose is to provide employment and job and life skills training for people receiving Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits and others with limited employment opportunities.
The Furniture Bank operates one of the largest social purpose enterprises in Canada, is the second largest in Toronto by sales revenue, and is the largest employer of people who are marginalized. It is partially funded by: the Toronto Enterprise Fund, a funding partnership of United Way Toronto; the City of Toronto; the Province of Ontario; as well as the Homelessness Partnerships Initiative, a federal program administered by the City of Toronto. This program provides job and life skills training and/or employment to individuals such as At-Risk youth, individuals suffering from minor mental disabilities, the learning disabled, people receiving Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits and other marginalized people with limited employment opportunities.
The Furniture Bank encounters thousands of participants who come from the neediest of the GTA’s communities. In additional to assisting in their housing, we have for a number of years provided volunteer opportunities and a limited number of paid skills development programs (under the auspices of the Furniture Link Program) providing opportunities for skills development and the potential to obtain employment
In the last three years we have experienced a significant amount of growth in our business activities in line with the increased need for our charitable services. Fortunately, we have also benefitted from an increase in volunteer hours, youth job placement, and other job opportunities for the marginalized. At present we employ more then 20 individuals and we receive referrals from City of Toronto’s Streets to Homes program, HRSDC, St. Christopher House, and Yonge Street Mission (who target youth at risk), the City of Toronto Investing in Neighbourhoods program and City of Toronto Employment and Social Services.
This year we launched a Career Centre with a focus on the Youth-At-Risk demographic. This provides an opportunity to learn additional marketable skills and gain work experience in areas including logistics, furniture repair, call centre operations and warehousing . This program is meant to teach youth about corporate culture, foster a strong work ethic, decrease the unemployment rate among urban Toronto youth, and encourage opportunities like higher education and career planning. Together we can enable young participants to contribute to society in a viable manner and thus reduce crimes of violence, theft and drugs. This formal program leverages existing best practices and data, and involves full-time Program Management. These individuals will often need intensive support and nurturing from a mentor and coach.
We are a successful and innovative special enterprise that promotes involvement of participants. It is a creative initiative and has proven to be successful in lifting people out of poverty and into reasonable hope for financial independence. To find out how you can get involved financially for support or otherwise, please contact Melody Jackson or John Cumming.
