Grand Challenges Canada
Building nightstands for families moving in.
A Build-A-Thon with a note in the drawer
In October 2024, 102 Grand Challenges Canada employees held a Build-A-Thon for Furniture Bank and assembled 32 nightstands for 32 families setting up a home. It was their first volunteer day with us.
Grand Challenges Canada calls itself one of the world’s leading impact-first investors. It is a non-profit innovation platform, and most of its work is funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.
The team worked in small groups around tables in a meeting room, putting each nightstand together from its parts. Some built white nightstands and others black ones, and one group left a handwritten note in a drawer for the family who would take it home: “We hope this piece of furniture brings comfort and hope to your home.”
Every nightstand the team built went to the families we serve: newcomers and refugees, people leaving homelessness, and women and children starting over after a shelter stay. A social service agency refers each family to us, and our team helps them choose what their household needs from our showroom.
A nightstand is a small thing until you don’t have one: somewhere to put a lamp, a glass of water or a book at the end of the day. Thank you to everyone at Grand Challenges Canada who spent their team day building furniture for a family they will never meet.
The Grand Challenges Canada Build-A-Thon
October 2024: assembling 32 nightstands at the Build-A-Thon.
Ways your company can partner with us
There is a family in Toronto sleeping on the floor tonight
Bring your team together for a Build-A-Thon like Grand Challenges Canada’s, or donate the furniture your business no longer needs. Either way, you help us turn empty housing into furnished homes.
