Furniture Bank

Furniture Bank

2017 Innovation Award - Greater Toronto

Furniture Bank

Nominator Comments:

For nearly 20 years, Furniture Bank has been in the business of making life a little easier for people and families transitioning out of homelessness by providing them with used furniture and household goods. This innovative social enterprise also offers job training and placement opportunities for individuals facing barriers to employment. In the past year, the agency has developed creative new approaches to fine-tuning their services. This includes improving the agency’s information systems to identify high-demand items such as mattresses and then working with manufacturers to meet this need. This past summer, the agency was able to increase the number of furniture pickups (and the total number of items in each pickup) by partnering with other organizations. It’s this out-of-the-box thinking and agency-wide passion to make a difference that is driving incredible results for the people Furniture Bank helps every day.

To quote one of Furniture Bank’s community partners: “Under Executive Director Dan Kershaw’s leadership, particularly in the last year, the organization has taken this orientation toward creativity and innovation to the next level. Furniture Bank is now known in the sector for constantly pushing boundaries to deepen their reach and impact.”

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