Charity finds new homes for gently used furniture
Furniture Bank moved to Parkdale in June from North York
Charity finds new homes for gently used furniture.
City Councillor Adam Giambrone speaks with Sister Anne Schenck, founder of the Furniture Bank, at a meet and greet hosted by the charity on Nov. 4. The Furniture Bank collects and distributes donated gently used furniture and other household items to assist Toronto residents in need. (Nov. 4, 2009)
Staff photo/ERIN HATFIELD
As Toronto expands its waste diversion program, the Furniture Bank is exactly the sort of organization City Councillor Adam Giambrone said the city is looking to partner with.Giambrone, who represents the riding of Davenport and also serves as the Vice Chair of the City's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, spoke at the Furniture Bank on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at a meet and greet the charity hosted with area businesses.The Furniture Bank, which was started in 1998 by Sister Anne Schenck, collects and distributes donated gently used furniture and other household items to assist Toronto residents in need.It works with partner agencies and shelters in Toronto to furnish the homes of individuals and families leaving abusive situations, refugees to Canada and homeless persons leaving shelters.Not only does the Furniture Bank help improve people's lives, it also helps the City of Toronto in diverting furniture from landfill, Giambrone said."Reuse is far better, not just because it improves people's lives, not just because it is the right thing to do, but also just because from an environmental perspective when you reuse something it is far better than recycling and obviously much better than going into landfill."The city, Giambrone said, is hoping to partner with agencies to take some of the items they collect and distribute them to people who could use them."The whole reuse concept, we talk a lot about this at the city. One of the things we are going to be doing over the next year or two is setting up a whole series of collection centres for reuse items."There are varying degrees of quality of the stuff that you collect. When you collect things at the curb it is quite remarkable...there is stuff that is almost brand new."The Furniture Bank is exactly the kind of organization the city would like to partner with, he said, as they move into the next phase of waste reduction during the next few years.The Furniture Bank is located at 11 Peel Street, in Parkdale, where it moved to in June from its former location in North York.Visit www.furniturebank.org for more information about donating items to the Furniture Bank.