Circle Furniture has been named an
inaugural retailer of the Help
1 Up program, the home furnishing industry's
unified charitable effort to support furniture
banks.
A furniture bank is a non-profit
organization which collects unwanted furnishings
from the general public and provides it to people
in need. Typical clients of furniture banks are
women and children escaping domestic violence,
families below the poverty line, victims of natural
disasters, and others requiring emergency assistance.
Furniture banks provide basic home furnishings
such as beds, a kitchen table, and dishes.
The Help 1 Up program encourages
consumers to shop at participating retailers and
add 1% to their next furniture purchase. The Help
1 Up program is administered by the National Furniture
Bank Association (NFBA).
As a pilot retailer, Circle Furniture
will serve a critical role in fine tuning the Help
1 Up program by providing insight to the NFBA prior
to national deployment at thousands of retail locations.
Richard Tubman,
an owner of Circle Furniture, said the Help 1
Up program is a great way for Circle Furniture
to extend their support of community efforts. "Circle Furniture supports
a number of local organizations benefiting kids," Tubman
said. "Help 1 Up provides us and our customers
the opportunity to be a formative part of a national
effort which will help thousands of children, in
the local area and all across the country."
Each year tens
of thousands of people receive donated beds,
kitchen tables, dressers, dishes, and utensils
from furniture banks. According to a 2004 survey
of furniture bank operators, children represent
the largest percentage of their service base.
The tagline for Help 1 Up is "No child
in America should have to sleep on the floor."
"The Help 1 Up program will
do a tremendous amount of good for families and
kids in need," said Tom Polk, chairman of
the NFBA. "At the same time, participating
retailers benefit from increased sales and making
a positive difference in peoples' lives. Many consumers
will be motivated to shop at a participating retailer,
rather than a retailer that doesn't wish to support
the effort."
About the National Furniture Bank Association (NFBA)
The NFBA is the non-profit affiliation of furniture
banks. The organization's mission is to create
comfortable home environments by providing furnishings
to those in need. Contact the NFBA to learn more
about the Help 1 Up program, or to find out how
retailers can participate. www.help1up.org.
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