Furniture bank

By Alyssa Horrobin

Windsorites are collecting furniture for a furniture bank project to help Syrian refugees settling into their new homes.

The furniture bank is a project of the We Love Windsor organization, a group of churches in Windsor wanting to serve the city.

Daniel Gray, missions pastor at Parkwood Gospel Temple and chair of the furniture bank committee, said this initiative fits with what We Love Windsor is all about.

“The idea of We Love Windsor is just how can we show the love of Jesus in very practical ways? This fits in because we’re meeting direct needs and we get to shine the light of God in dark places,” said Gray. “Where there’s a lot of need and hurt, we get to be a light here in the furniture bank.”

We Love Windsor started in summer 2014 as a one-day-a-year event to reach out to and love the city. This is the first time the organization has done a project like this.

“We know the refugees and those in need, they don’t have much,” said Dave Locke, volunteer and committee member for the We Love Windsor Furniture Bank. “When the refugees came here from across the ocean, they weren’t bringing anything with them other than what they could carry, so their need is furniture. It’s a big expense that they cannot afford, so we’re giving it to them at no cost.”

The idea for the furniture bank was a response by churches in the community to the influx of Syrian refugees in 2016, but the bank is open to anyone in need of furniture.

“I think the way we saw it is, once they’re here, they’re here and they’re a part of the city,” said Gray. “Our goal with We Love Windsor is to help the city and to love the city. So if they’re here and a part of that, then they fit.”

According to Locke, clients need to get a referral through a church or another agency in the community such as Hiatus House or Matthew House. Then they can make an appointment to come pick up furniture.

Bob Cameron, director of the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative, provides the legal assistance behind this idea.  He said the DWCC is a big part of making this project happen because of their relationship with the City of Windsor, who provided the building for the furniture bank by leasing the old science center building to the team for a year for $1.

For information on donating or receiving furniture or volunteer opportunities, visit welovewindsor.ca or call Dave Lock at 519-890-4353.