Rightsize Facility and Office Furniture Center launched a partnership this week with the newly-founded nonprofit Chicago Furniture Bank to provide expertise and logistical support of its charitable endeavors.
Chicago Furniture Bank collects donations of gently used furniture and household goods and distributes them to families and individuals transitioning to government-subsidized apartments. Together with partner organizations, it helps Chicagoans by providing complete furnishing packages that turn empty apartments into comfortable and safe homes.
Chicago Furniture Bank was founded by recent Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania graduates Griffin Amdur, James McPhail, and Andrew Witherspoon. The trio were inspired by the Philadelphia Furniture Bank and the lack of recycling options for residential furniture, and the nonprofit received the President’s Engagement Prize from Penn this spring.
“The mission of Chicago Furniture Bank aligns well with our business model and complements our culture and longstanding commitment to nonprofits and charitable organizations,” says Mason Awtry, president of Rightsize Facility, the parent company of Office Furniture Center.
As an extension of their partnership, Awtry has joined the Board of Directors of Chicago Furniture Bank. “I’m proud to work with this innovative and much-needed nonprofit and look forward to furthering its mission of providing furniture and household items for people in need,” says Awtry. “While many furniture banks exist, we have yet to have one in Chicago. I’m glad that I’m part of the team changing that and look forward to watching this nonprofit thrive as it serves thousands of people striving to start a new life in a new home. While our business is not residential, our expertise in logistics allows us to bring years of experience and furniture storage and delivery know-how to this new nonprofit.”
Chicago Furniture Bank will initially provide gently used products to women and children in need. They’ve already secured partnerships with three nonprofits in Chicago — Housing Opportunities for Women, Family Rescue, and A Safe Haven Foundation — which annually transition more than 2,000 individuals into new homes.
