“Furniture
donation is especially critical for low income families
who are forced to make difficult choices between buying
food, furniture, children’s clothes, or school supplies,”
explains Teresa Buker, who co-founded Family Matters,
a volunteer-run furniture bank with friends Debra Cotter
and Margaret Grimm. The three draw on their community
to donate gently used household items as well as personal
time and labor.
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What moves people: Teresa Buker,
Debra Cotter, and Margaret Grimm (l-r) make newly
un-homeless people feel right at home.
Photo by Justin Mills |
Located in the basement of Our Lady of Fatima Church
in Magnolia, the organization collects wish lists from
social service agencies throughout Seattle and then
matches up its inventory with the needs of recently
housed families and individuals. Since most of their
clients lack transportation, Family Matters partners
with Bekins Northwest Moving to provide a free weekly
delivery service. To date, they have outfitted 115 households.
“Basic necessities such as beds, sofas, kitchen
tables and chairs, pots and pans, and linens are often
overlooked as essential to rebuilding and stabilizing
one’s life,” says Cotter. “We transform
an empty apartment into a warm, welcoming home for a
formerly homeless family or individual,” adds
Grimm.
To donate furniture or household items to Family Matters
please call the donations hotline at (206) 352-4563.
—Amy Besunder
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