Vancouver furniture charity overwhelmed by donations for Syrian refugees

A Vancouver-based charity says they’re overwhelmed by the number of used furniture donations they’ve received from generous people to help Syrian Refugees landing in the city.

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“It’s just so great. As you know you can read a lot of negative responses to the refugee crisis and this is just so encouraging,” executive director of HomeStart Foundation Vikki Stevenson told Vancity Buzz.

“It’s great to see how many people want to help and people asking how they can help, what they can do to volunteer, and frankly, we’re completely overwhelmed.”

With the extreme generosity of Vancouverites has come a new challenge for Stevenson: finding a way to get all the gently used donated furniture to the families in need. They’re asking for cash donations to cover the costs.

“We’re a small organization and on top of the regular clients that we have referred to us this is a huge addition,” Stevenson said.

“It’s not very exciting stuff – paying rent on our warehouse and buying gas and just expending the hours that our staff are working.”

Stevenson says it only costs about $270 to fully furnish a home. Since 2003, the organization has furnished over 1,000 homes in Vancouver and nearly 40 per cent of those served are children.

If you’d like to donate to HomeStart Foundation, visit their website.