"Time to get ready for bed!" someone calls from the other room. Johnny comes running to the bed room and for the first time in months Johnny will have a real bed to sleep on. He looks up at his mommy and says “I’ll get a good sleep tonight”.
Domestic violence recently landed Nancy and her three children, ranging in age from six to sixteen, in a homeless shelter. During their stay at the shelter Nancy learned about the Furniture Bank and received a referral for furniture.
Unlike most charities our program relies heavily on infrastructure, facilities and transportation. We have a 30,000 square foot warehouse where our clients, when referred to us, can come and select furniture for their new apartment.
Most of our clients come to us with nothing more then a bag, so they will need to select many items stored in the warehouse, during the walk through. Because we put through as many as 220 families per month, that’s 220 mattress, 220 sofas, 220 tables every single month that must be stored and then quickly replenished. We need a large warehouse.
We operate one of the largest social purpose enterprises in Canada and the second largest in Toronto. We provide job and life skills training and/or employment to people receiving Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits and other people with limited employment opportunities. This program allows marginalized or at risk people to become more self-sufficient by further developing their skills and learning a trade. Through this program we operate three trucks providing pickup and delivery of furniture. We need transportation. Our volunteers are the driving force that makes our social enterprise special and unique. Their passion and devotion is incredible. Without their help, additional labour costs would seriously affected our ability to sustain operations. Volunteers have been and continue to be an essential part of our success. Over 100 volunteers contribute 1,200 hours every month of service. Some of our volunteers have been recipients of our core service and are now in a position to give back as a “thanks” for helping them in their time of need. These volunteers help our clients to make their selections in our showroom, to manage and replenish inventory in our warehouse and to repair small household items.
We are committed to the environment
Of note as well is Furniture Bank’s commitment to the environment. Last year we diverted more than 1,100 metric tonnes of solid waste from landfill sites. This represents the equivalent of 15,400 couches. Imagine this in a green space! Some of our volunteers helped us to take recycling to the next level by producing 842 cushions, 332 pillows, 77 pairs of curtains, 50 bed spreads, 24 lampshades and 93 reupholstered chairs all out of material that would quite possibly have made its way to landfill sites.
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