Timeline of our setback and recovery
February 27, 2015
On the night of February 27th, our fleet of trucks were the target of an incident of vandalism and theft that left the majority of them immobile. Our social enterprise and charity was at risk of not being able to operate for weeks, which would have left our clients without gently used furniture, and left us unable to collect new furniture donations. Our press release about the incident included CCTV footage of the theft, while major news outlets across the country carried the story.
March 2, 2015
Our immediate concern was to ensure that none of our clients were affected. Thankfully, our friends in the trucking and cartage community stepped up to help make deliveries of furniture to clients. Similarly, we are grateful to Leon’s Furniture who also donated a truck and crew to help get us through our setback.
With the scale of our losses clear, the rest of our community started to reach out to us to help us overcome the $20,000 we lost from the theft. With the help of CanadaHelps, a campaign was launched for corporations and individuals to show their support through donations.
March 11, 2015
Despite staring at weeks of unmet furniture deliveries and pickups, we were able to continue our operations. Thanks to our supporters from across Canada, we were able to keep on trucking the rest of the week. In fact, on March 11, only a week since the launch of our Keep us truckin’ campaign, we were able to raise $20,750 to recover the cost of the theft and help get our trucks back on the road.
March 13, 2015 and beyond
Thanks to donations from Alterna Savings, the Rotary Club of Etobicoke as well as numerous other individual donors, together with truck and crew donations from the likes of Leon’s Furniture, together we ensured not a single client was affected.
Over 100 families a week rely on our ability to deliver furniture donations in a timely and safe manner. So, moving forward, we need to ensure that our fleet of trucks are protected, our facilities are secured and all necessary steps are taken to continue to keep Furniture Bank trucking. We therefore ask our donors to continue to support us through their financial and furniture donations to ensure no client who visits furniture bank has their furniture undelivered.
The outcome
Thanks to our donors’ in-kind and financial donations, not a single client was affected by our setback. Instead, 381 individuals who were at risk of not having their furniture delivered during this timeline, now have furniture.
Number of clients who benefited from your support
Your support ensured that our clients have beds to sleep in and tables to eat on. In fact they were given them much more than that: the dignity, security and stability associated with living in a furnished home. For that we say THANK YOU to all our friends and supporters.
