Since 2003 we’ve helped more than 15,000 people in about 4,500 households with annual incomes averaging $9,500. We estimate half of those we help do not have beds. Average family size is 2.5 people. We help up to 10 families weekly. We clean, organize, inventory, pack–and if necessary deliver and unload their furniture. A modest fee is charged which helps with delivery costs.

We worked with a single mom who balanced being a college student, caring for her child, and a job. She had almost no furniture, so we gave her a loveseat, a desk and chair for studying, two lamps, and other household basics. She explains, “I just had a bed, a broken dresser, futon, and two plastic chairs. Now I’m so happy. You guys have been so wonderful.”

Recycling Furniture for Families (RF4F) gives gently used furniture and household basics to pre-screened people in need in McLean County. Our non-denominational Christian charity works with more than 50 local service agencies and churches to provide basic home furnishings at no charge to people living at or below the poverty level ($12,490 annual income for one person; add $4,420 for each additional person). Everyone we help is pre-screened by a referring agency or church.

We worked with a single mom who balanced being a college student, caring for her child, and a job. She had almost no furniture, so we gave her a loveseat, a desk and chair for studying, two lamps, and other household basics. She explains, “I just had a bed, a broken dresser, futon, and two plastic chairs. Now I’m so happy. You guys have been so wonderful.”

RF4F, a subsidiary of Partners for Community, is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt not-for-profit non-denominational ministry and is member of McLean County’s Continuum of Care Homeless Service Providers Network. We were founded in 2002 by Doug Poag–a visionary with a big heart–to assist victims of domestic violence. In 2003, we evolved into an 8,000 square foot furniture bank. The people we help can find housing through other social service agencies, but cannot afford used or new furniture.

Since 2003, we’ve helped more than 15,000 people in about 4,500 households with annual incomes averaging $9,500. About 25 percent of the people we help were recently homeless, 15 percent disabled, and 6 percent escaping domestic violence. We estimate half of those we help do not have beds. We help up to 10 families weekly with an average family size of 2-3 people. We clean, organize, inventory, pack, and if necessary, deliver and unload their furniture. A modest fee is charged for delivery costs.

With less than 5 paid employees, our 50 volunteers help your charity dollars stretch. We can completely furnish a family’s home for $250. There are many ways to help: $25 pays about half a day of our warehouse’s utilities; $65 maintains a moving truck; $130 buys a tank of gas for the moving truck. And of course, we need furniture in order to furnish families’ homes.