A few years ago, we bought a new house and had some furniture that needed to be donated. It was in great shape, we just didn’t need it anymore. I put out a Facebook SOS (because that’s what we do these days, right?) and asked for recommendations. I got the obvious suggestions like St. Vincent De Paul and Goodwill right away. Don’t get me wrong; those are fantastic organizations! But I was looking for something a little more personal. That’s when someone mentioned New Life Furniture Bank.
New Life Furniture Bank is a faith-based non-profit who accepts new and gently used furniture. Each piece is inspected and cleaned before being delivered to its new home. They help furnish houses at no cost for individuals who are:
- Coming out of homelessness
- Fleeing domestic violence situations
- Aging out of the foster care system
- Facing extreme poverty
- Immigrants and refugees
- Overcoming natural disasters
Each person or family is referred by a social worker through a partner agency. They are given enough furniture to help make their new residence a furnished home. New Life is also the only furniture bank in all of Southwest Ohio! In 2017, they delivered to 851 homes. This impacted 1,635 people with 10,061 pieces of furniture donated.*
After reading all of this, I called their number, and they scheduled a pick-up date for me that was the next week. The only thing they asked for was a suggested $25 donation fee to cover gas. I was more than happy to pay that! For $25, someone was going to pick up my extra furniture and give it to someone who needed it? Absolutely!
When the two gentlemen came for my pick-up, they were very friendly and efficient. The whole process took about 5 minutes! I filled out some paperwork for tax purposes while they loaded the truck and gave them my donation. I told them how excited I was that someone else could love our kitchen table as much as we did. The gentleman told me that he was, too, because there was a family waiting on a table, and it was being delivered to them the very next day. I had tears in my eyes hearing this amazing news!
Since our first, we have donated three more times. Each one has been just as easy. They have always shown up on time, and each donation of furniture was waiting on a new home.
Don’t have furniture to donate? They are always accepting monetary donations, or you can attend one of their fundraising events.
A piece of furniture that you no longer have a need for could be just the thing that someone else desperately needs. Whether it’s a gently used bed for a child who’s been sleeping on the floor, or a kitchen table for a family coming out of crisis to gather around for a warm meal, I hope you consider calling New Life Furniture Bank. You can rest easy knowing your donation is directly impacting and changing lives in the community around us.
*Most recent available data.
