Do you have a couch or another piece of big furniture that you don’t know what to do with? Do you also want to make a big difference in someone’s life? New Life Furniture Bank collects gently used furniture from people who have extra and delivers it to people overcoming devastating circumstances such as homelessness.
“We are honored to be Southwest Ohio’s only nationally registered furniture bank serving Greater Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Kentucky,” says Heather Voit, vice president of
advancement at New Life Furniture Bank.
How did you get started?
New Life Furniture Bank was founded in 2006 by Holly Young, Tim Nabors and volunteers
from the Milford First United Methodist Church in partnership with the InterFaith Hospitality
Network which provides emergency shelter to homeless families.
Holly and Tim volunteered together to help families who were staying at their church overcome homelessness. During this time, Holly met Teresa, who had fled domestic abuse with her three children and just the clothes on their backs. Shortly after, Teresa moved into a new house, and she shared with Holly that she had pulled three twin mattresses out of the dumpster for her children. Holly told Teresa that she would help her find clean mattresses for the children and quickly organized a furniture and housewares drive.
The church responded with an abundance of furniture and everything Teresa needed to start over – her house was made into a home! This act of kindness restored Teresa’s dignity, relieved the stress of buying furniture and allowed Teresa to focus on providing for her children. InterFaith Hospitality recognized the need for a furniture bank, and began referring more clients to Holly and Tim.
How do you reach families in need?
We partner with over 70 social service agencies in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Dayton who refer their clients to us for furniture. Typically, furniture recipients are receiving supportive services from these agencies and are on the track for self-sufficiency.
What kind of impact are you seeing on the community?
When you donate furniture and household items to New Life Furniture Bank, you are caring for our planet, community and neighbors in need. Last year, we collected and distributed over 33,000 pieces of furniture. This is approximately 1.9 million pounds or 992 tons of solid waste potentially diverted from our landfills. These items were delivered to over 2,278 households of individuals and families in our community overcoming devastating circumstances. When you donate furniture, your furniture will be given a new life for someone who is in need. Your donations make the world a better place.
How can people get involved with New Life Furniture?
There are many ways to get involved with New Life Furniture Bank. We rely on hund
reds of volunteers every year to help us fulfill our mission and have lots of fun opportunities for people of all ages and interests. We also accept furniture donations. If you have furniture to donate, please schedule a furniture pickup online at nlfurniture.org or drop it off at our warehouse in Blue Ash.
