Responding to industry requests, the non-profit National Furniture Bank Association (NFBA) announced that it is offering an additional sponsorship level, Help1Up Friend, to accommodate individuals and corporations of all sizes wishing to get involved.
Help1Up is the home furnishings industry's free, socially responsible, and environmentally friendly used furniture removal service for the general public. This service is made possible through a network of dozens of furniture banks across the country. Furniture banks collect used home furnishings from the public, give the donor a tax receipt, then provide the furnishings directly to families in need. Typical recipients of the used furniture are women and children escaping domestic violence, families living below the poverty line, and victims of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.
The Help1Up Friend sponsorship is $100.
“We’ve had many requests from individuals asking how they can support us,” said NFBA executive director Don Lawrence. “People who become a Help1Up Friend are not only ensuring that we can keep opening more furniture banks, but they also demonstrate their commitment publicly and setting an example for others to follow.”
Help1Up Friends will be listed on the Help1Up.org website, and receive a Help1Up lapel pin.
Kathy Parks, the executive director of International Home Furnishings Representatives Association (IHFRA) and a member of the NFBA Board of Directors, said the Help1Up Friend sponsorship will engage a large segment of the home furnishings industry. “Representatives tell me all the time they think the NFBA is a fantastic organization,” stated Parks, “and now they have a way to get involved.”
Smaller retailers, manufacturers, designers, and others in the industry asked the NFBA to create a lower-cost sponsorship than the previous entry level of $1,000. “There are many retailers in the HFIA with only one or two locations,” said Home Furnishings International Association (HFIA) president Mary Frye, also on the NFBA Board of Directors. “A $1,000 sponsorship might require a plan for a return on the investment, but $100 is an easy decision to help children and families in need. Most of us spend $100 on things that don’t make any long term difference to anyone.”
Members of the home furnishings industry who are concerned about the environment are also urged to become Help1Up Friends. Furniture banks in America collect and distribute over one million pieces of perfectly usable home furnishing items that would otherwise end up in landfills or incinerators.
Lawrence said that if a group of employees of a single company combine their Help1Up Friend sponsorships, their sponsorship will be converted into a corporate sponsorship and the individuals will still retain their Help1Up Friend status.
Corporate sponsors are entitled to have their description, hyperlink, and logo on the upcoming sponsor listing page at Help1Up.org. Retailers currently have all store locations listed under the “Find a Participating Retailer” zip code feature.
To become a "friend" of Help1Up get listed on the Help1Up.org website, and receive a Help1Up lapel pin, go to:
http://www.help1up.org/katrina/donate.php
Higher level "corporate sponsorships" can also be made at this link. or by calling Don Lawrence at (800) 576-0774.
About the National Furniture Bank Association (NFBA): The NFBA is the 501(c)(3) charitable organization of the home furnishings industry. Its mission is to increase the service capacity of existing furniture banks, and to open new ones in areas without a furniture bank. No child in America should have to sleep on the floor. Kathy Ireland is the Help1Up Ambassador.
National Furniture Bank Association (NFBA)
Don Lawrence Executive Director
(800) 576-0774
dlawrence@Help1Up.org
http://www.help1up.org