Come To Find Out
Welcome to Come To Find Out- your resource for all things real estate. You can come here to find out about the current market, terms that you see and hear during a transaction, things to do and not to do when you're in contract. The show will also feature interviews with industry partners and leading experts to help you choose who you want on your home buying journey with you. The home buying, selling and investing process can be so overwhelming, so this guide is meant to make it just "whelming."
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Come To Find Out
Transforming Lives Through Furniture: Phil Washburn on the Furniture Bank's Mission and Impact
What if a simple piece of furniture could transform someone's life? Join us for a heartwarming conversation with Phil, the CEO of the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, as he reveals how essential furniture brings comfort and stability to families in crisis. From heart-touching personal stories to the intricate process of partnering with agencies for referrals, you'll learn about the profound emotional impact this organization has on individuals facing homelessness and domestic violence.
Next, we spotlight Downsize with a Heart, a unique service catering to those moving or downsizing. Imagine the convenience of having experts handle everything from picking up unwanted furniture to managing trash disposal. Discover the emotional and financial benefits of donating locally and how their partnerships with auctioneers offer flexible options for valuable items. This segment is a must-listen for anyone looking to simplify their transition to a smaller living space.
We wrap up with exciting community involvement opportunities and events like the annual Bed Race. Get inspired by the nearly 20,000 hours volunteers contribute each year, particularly in the woodshop, where they craft essential furniture for families in need. Feel the community spirit come alive with stories of friendly competition and creativity. Whether you're interested in volunteering, attending events, or donating, find out how you can support the Furniture Bank's mission and make a tangible difference in your community.
To find out more:
http://furniturebankcoh.org
https://www.instagram.com/furniturebankcoh/
https://www.facebook.com/furniturebankcoh
Sarah Thress
614-893-5885
First Time Home Buyer course: https://sarahthress.graphy.com/
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https://www.youtube.com/@LIFEINCOLUMBUS
Hi and welcome to this week's episode of Come to Find Out. This week we are at the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio and this one if anyone listening knows me you know that this one is very near and dear to my heart because I did in a previous life I was the Director of Development here, so always something that I feel really passionate about and love to just kind of bring awareness to it. So I was very excited when Phil and Adam decided that they would come on the show and talk to us about it. So thank you guys so much for taking time out to be on the show today. Absolutely Thank you for inviting us. Yeah, absolutely so, phil, you are the CEO, president of Furniture Bank, so tell us a little bit about, you know, furniture Bank. What does it do? How is it, you know, impacting the community? You know just how would you describe it to someone that's like just listening and has never heard of you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you, sarah. So the Furniture Bank exists to help families who are going through some sort of life crisis have access to the basic furniture that they need in order to be successful, and every day we have neighbors who are experiencing some sort of challenge, whether it's homelessness that they're coming out of and are getting rehoused for the first time, it could be domestic violence situation where someone is leaving a bad situation, has to leave everything behind and start anew and, you know, is navigating that and sleeping on the floor and it can be any number of challenges, but when you're going through that challenge, it's incredibly difficult when you're also having to sleep on the floor.
Speaker 2:You don't have a couch to sit on and kind of relax, you don't have a kitchen table to sit at and have a meal or to have your kids do homework on, and so it really exacerbates the pain and the struggle that they're already experiencing.
Speaker 2:And so we provide that basic furniture so that, as they're navigating that process, they at least have some comfort at home so that they can be refreshed and recharged and re-energized to face whatever the next day is going to bring. And so it's simply about the comfort and the sense of home that comes from having basic furniture. And every year it's over 3,000 families that we served. Last year, over 3,700 families needed access to basic furniture, and we've just continued to see that need go up year in and year out. And so you know it's a wonderful experience for us because we know we're really having a tangible impact. We get to see the smiles every day as someone comes in and literally woke up sleeping on the floor and by the end of the day is going to be sleeping in their own bed, and it's pretty powerful to get to see that day in a day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, it absolutely is. In fact, I remember one time I remember this very vividly when I was here as a director of development I had this little girl come in and she was clutching a pillow just a pillow To you, or I. We're like, yeah, cool, it's a pillow, it was her treasure, she was so proud of it and she goes I'm going to get my own bed. And I got to pick out my own pillow and I just literally like teared up instantly because I was like, holy goodness, like this poor sweet girl like is so excited about that, you know. And so I used to always bring my daughter in because I wanted her to see, like, do you see how? Like fortunate you are you know, not everybody is so, but yes to your point like it's so rewarding to see, you know people being able to, you know, have beds and things like that. So when obviously you know someone, they're the needs identified and you know how do, how do they get connected with you? And then what's the process, once they're here, for getting the furniture?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So we work with a network of about 80 agencies, churches, even in for-profit companies, and those folks make the referral to us, and so we don't actually go out looking for families to serve, and that's really intentional. We want to make sure that the families that we're working with have a long-term relationship with someone that can come alongside of them to help them navigate these various challenges of life. We know that furniture is an important part of that journey, but it's a one point in time and so having that relationship really matters. And what we found is that by working through those agencies, we're allowing that case manager, that social worker, whoever's making that referral, to have a quick win, an easy win with that client. That starts to build trust and relationship and shows, hey, we can help you, and so it's really a win-win relationship.
Speaker 2:And so we work with a very broad network of folks who are out in the community who are doing just great work, boots on the ground, interacting with the whole spectrum of types of families that we encounter and serve, and they identify the need, they make the referral to us.
Speaker 2:They pay a very small referral fee to help offset some of the delivery costs. They schedule an appointment that client has the opportunity to come in here, walk our showroom like any other store, select from what we have in inventory. It literally gets loaded up and delivered to their home that same day. So it's a really powerful process when you think about creating dignity and creating a sense of pride of ownership for these folks. They're not just being given something, they are a participant in the process, selecting the furniture. And then you know if they have a vision for how they want their apartment to look like and we can accommodate with what we have. It's so fun to see them be able to oh, I love that bright blue couch. You know that not everybody would love, but for them it really speaks to them and they can really envision it being a part of their life. We love getting to see that piece of empowerment that comes from that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that and it's so true. It is that dignity piece because they feel like they're actually shopping in a showroom, versus just like you know, like here's what we've got, like you know like it or don't you know. So it's like they're getting that dignity, um, and delivering it same day, like I don't know about you, but like anytime you go to a store and you ask like how long is it going to be? It's like you know three months or something like it's never quick. So that's amazing, yeah it is pretty special I love.
Speaker 1:Now, when it comes to the furniture that you're giving out, how do you guys get that furniture? Like, do you just, you know, find it or you know, are people giving it to you? How do you get that furniture?
Speaker 2:We will get furniture in so many different places because it's essential. We can't do what we do without furniture. We absolutely need furniture, and so we will not leave any stone unturned. But the predominant way in which we get furniture is through residential donations, and so this is folks in the community who have excess furniture in their house for various reasons. It could be that they're replacing, they're upgrading, and so they have that couch or that loveseat or that chair, that dining set that they're moving on from. It's still in good, usable condition. They just don't need it anymore. And so instead of them trying to sell it on the marketplace, you know, and having to deal with all of the challenges that brings, or worse, putting it out on the curb and letting it get destroyed by the weather and end up in the landfill, they give us a call, we come out for free, we pick that up and and they can feel good knowing that it's being kept in productive use and it's helping a neighbor in our community who needs this furniture. And so that is the vast majority of where we get our furniture.
Speaker 2:Last year, we collected over 63,000 pieces of furniture, so we're out in the community every day loading a lot of furniture. We have three routes that are out just in the residential communities. So we hit pretty much every zip code at least once a week, if not multiple times every week. And it's fairly simple you put it on your porch, you put it in your garage, you call us up, schedule the appointment. We're usually coming out within the next week, so it's not like you have to hold on to it for very long and it's absolutely free as long as there's some of those core furniture pieces. Now if you are one of those folks who I just can't get it out to my porch, I can't get it into the garage, I need extra hands to carry it. We do offer a service that allows us to come into the home and we will remove it for $50. And that's up to 10 items. So if you have 10 items inside your home and you need that extra hands, we'll go ahead and do that for $50, which is really a steal.
Speaker 2:When you think about you know how much time and effort it takes to move furniture in and out of a house, and so that's our basic residential. You know furniture collection. We also collect from a lot of corporate partners when they're maybe getting rid of furniture a new thing that we're seeing a lot of is because of online sales and online returns. There's a lot of retailers who now have excess inventory that comes back. They can't resell it, and so that stuff was going to end up in the landfill. So they're donating it to us as well, and so we really got a whole spectrum of ways in which we get access to furniture, but the biggest is obviously that residential collection. It's such an important part. It's the stuff that you know day in and day out the sofas, the beds, the dressers, the kitchen tables that we absolutely, desperately need.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. Now what if someone gives you a piece that is maybe like too big? Because obviously we know that, you know a lot of times these people that had been experiencing homelessness or you know, just left the shelter system. You know, the places that they're moving are not mansions, you know, and they can't accommodate huge pieces. What do you guys do with those huge pieces or things that would not be conducive for the needs of your clients?
Speaker 2:That's a great question and it is an important part of our story because, again, if we weren't collecting those pieces, where else would they be going?
Speaker 2:They'd be going into the landfill and I think you know, even though that's not central to who we are, I think we all want to keep as much furniture out of the landfill as long as possible. We know it's going to all end up there at some point, but if it's still got usable life you know, we want to keep it out, and so we do accept those larger pieces sectionals, big armoires, things like that and we actually have a couple of thrift stores where we sell those pieces back to the community and so, again, we're keeping it in productive use but we're able to turn it into revenue that helps to offset our expenses. So that's why we're able to offer that free donation. Pickup is because we're able to sell just a small portion about 30% of what we collect we can sell to help offset our costs and that way we can take those items and even though it's not directly helping those families in need, it is still helping families in our community who have need for basic furniture.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that Because it's definitely like a social enterprise, so it's definitely a great way to support the community, sell those. But also, what I love about it is that the proceeds from it come back to the furniture bank and you know, which is where social enterprise, you know, gets its its term, but you know, and then that money comes back here to help more families. So I love that you guys have that. And then I also know that you created a second social enterprise, so love that we have. It's called furniture with the heart, correct, that's correct yeah perfect.
Speaker 1:So definitely, um, in the show notes, I'll have uh where to find furniture with the heart, because you'll definitely want to go check it out. They get some really cool stuff there. Um, but a second social enterprise, uh, that was created. Um, adam, I think you're gonna talk about it, so I'm super excited you were able to join us yeah.
Speaker 1:So downsize, obviously as a realtor, downsizing is huge and we're going to see a large number of people downsizing over the next few years, just as people become in retirement age, things like that, being licensed in Florida I see people that are downsizing to move down there, things like that. But I know you guys have like kind of a really unique approach to it and it's also supporting a great you know a great organization. So I'd love for you to just kind of talk about what is Downsize with the Heart. How did it kind of come about? What are the services you offer, all the things?
Speaker 3:So, yeah, very exciting times Again, another one of our social enterprises, but it's really a fee-based service to be able to assist with people going through life transition similar to like you mentioned.
Speaker 3:People can move and downs've mentioned 10 items or less for a lot of our normal pickups, but for Downsize with a Heart, any kind of 10 items or more. Some of our larger cleanouts folks that are obviously looking to move, whether that be locally or even out of state. We find that a lot of people have furniture they no longer need or home goods that they no longer need, that they may be looking to replace new as they move, or just items that they were looking to get rid of in the first place. So for us we're able to come in. What makes it a little bit different than our normal pickups is we can actually help with consolidation as well as disassembly A lot of those areas that kind of make that process a little bit easier. As a realtor yourself, people are worried about a lot of different things as they move, especially as they're buying a new home or even if they're worried about trying to sell their old property.
Speaker 3:A lot of those have varying timelines, so people really need somewhere that they can go, that can accept those items, make sure that it makes them feel good as well, obviously, to know that it's going to a good place, but really just to make the process as simple as possible, so you can actually give us a call. We can actually have someone come out to give an estimate. If it's a larger job and it's something that you want an idea of what we do, but it is fee-based. So the first hour is $250. And then for any hour after that is actually $200. So we also.
Speaker 3:What makes it a little unique is as you go to clean out your house, you're going to say, hey, we have a lot of items that we love and that we feel could still go to another great home, but you're obviously going to find some items that maybe are ready for disposal or things that are trash items. We can also do that additionally on top of kind of hauling out some of those other furniture pieces, things like that. So really we are truly a one-stop shop and a resource for everybody to hopefully make that process as easy as possible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that and it makes it so much easier because it's not like hey, I'm going to call you guys to pick up my furniture and I'm going to call 1-800-GOT-JUNK or one of the other millions of places that you hear about on the radio to come clean it out and all of those things. So I know at one point you guys also would partner with auctioneers and things like that. Is that still something? If they have pieces that they'd like to, you know, see if they could make money off of like is that still something you guys do?
Speaker 1:So what?
Speaker 3:we invite people to do. We've obviously been around here in Columbus since about 1998. So over that time we've established a lot of different partnerships and connections with folks within the region and things like that. So we invite anybody when they reach out to us to kind of start that process and talk through what items they're looking to get rid of. Things like that we can at least help connect them with some of the other resources that we have out there of groups that we've used in the past or groups that we know our clients or anybody who has used our services has relayed to us as well as a great opportunity. So we'll at least help you, walk you through that process and make sure that we can try and connect you if we have those resources.
Speaker 3:So that's really a big thing for us. And then, as you mentioned, really being able to take all of that revenue and feedback into our bigger mission to serve more families from the Downside Service is a really important thing for us as well, to be able to help continue to serve more families. So to be able to do that and to know that when you're moving and maybe you're going to Florida, that all those items that you couldn't take with you that you built a life around and a home around can now be still used somewhere in the community and still be a really great influence, even with you moving maybe out of state or to a different location, knowing that you can still make that impact.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that, especially those people that are moving out of state. You know, uh, I know we've discussed um previously just about how expensive it is to, you know, move that, and so a lot of times excuse me, a lot of times people will look at you know the amount of money they would spend loading up, you know, or paying someone to load up a truck and move it across country, and it sometimes just makes more financial sense to sell it all or donate it all or whatever and start over. You know wherever they're going.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and we see a lot I know you mentioned with our thrift stores, with our clients having space constraints, things like that. Obviously, with the nature of downsize of the heart, we're going to find groups that are truly downsizing and they're leaving maybe a larger home, their kids have moved out, things like that, that a lot of their furniture may not fit the space, even if it's something they may want to take or things like that. So even logistically, with pricing and things like that aside sometimes, it's usually just not a good fit as well. So that's why we invite anybody that has some of those items or going through those transitions as they look, to decide on what they do or don't want to take things like that. Then we can kind of help along that process and hopefully make their move a little bit easier.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. I love that. So, okay, so we've talked about you know people can call and you guys will pick up the furniture. You know you've got the downsize, all of that. I also know that you guys have a really cool wood shop and I know when I worked here, I used to love going out there and seeing the volunteers that would come in, you know, and, of course, anyone that's listening. You know, if you don't have furniture to donate, but you're like man, I'd love to do something to, like, you know, support this. You know, amazing organization. You know the building stuff. Building furniture is another way that they can do it, but I'd love for you to talk more about it because I'm sure it's changed, you know, since.
Speaker 2:I was here.
Speaker 1:So I'd love for you to like talk about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love this part about us. You know, and you know everybody has the ways in which they can contribute right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:For it's the 9,000 households who are donating furniture every year, and it's the you know, 1500 people who are donating financially. Well, it's also the 2000 plus people who are coming out and volunteering with us every year, and last year it was just under 20,000 hours of volunteer service. And so it's a really, when you think about, we couldn't operate without those volunteers, and the vast majority of those are in our wood shop.
Speaker 2:And so our wood shop started about 12 years ago and it was a partnership with the Woodworkers of Central Ohio, and it was really just an acknowledgement that when it comes to some furniture pieces and you think about kitchen tables and dressers and things like that people can hold on to those a whole lot longer than maybe a sofa or a bed. And so we didn't get enough donated to meet the demand in the community, and so it was really saying, hey, what can we do as a community to make sure that everybody has a dresser if they need it? And so these woodworkers created these really simple, unique designs for dressers, kitchen tables, coffee tables, side tables and bed frames. That allows us to make sure we have something for every family when they come in the door. And so they build about twenty five500 pieces of furniture every year, and the vast majority of that actually is built by folks who don't really know anything about woodworking.
Speaker 2:These woodworkers have simplified the process. They've done the dangerous work of kind of breaking the materials down into the usable parts, but we bring corporate groups in, civic groups, churches. They come in and volunteer for two or three hours. They assemble the furniture using the jigs. It's a very simple process we teach you, you don't have to know anything, and three hours later you have a stack of furniture that you know you helped build, that literally is going to be in someone's house in the next couple of days, and so it's a great experience.
Speaker 2:It's a lot of fun. We're always looking for new groups to join in and, you know, it's really just a very tangible way, you know, of knowing that I've actually really done something here. It's fun to see people you know, especially when we're serving clients in just the next room and they see that piece that they just built and the client's taking it, you know, to go into their home. I mean it's very powerful. But beyond that, now we've added some new volunteer opportunities at our thrift store. Both thrift stores allow the opportunity for groups to come in and volunteer there as well, and predominantly, what they're doing is sorting all of the various donations that we get, which is, you know, can be very overwhelming.
Speaker 2:But they're also assembling flat pack furniture. As the market continues to move more and more towards flat pack because things are being bought online, we have volunteers who come in and they assemble that furniture so that it can either go to families or it can be sold in our store up those Ikea kits or those solder kits and putting all the pieces together, you know, and assembling and seeing that piece of furniture after it's put together. We always have need for folks like that and again, we can accommodate really large groups. You know up to 50 people at those locations and so that's just another way that people can give back, and so that's just another way that people can give back. And it's always fun to see, you know, the looks on people's face when they realize.
Speaker 2:You know, I don't know anything about woodworking, but in the end I can actually build furniture. It's a lot of fun to see and it can get really competitive. We had, you know, executives come in and they find out that a team from their company built 18 tables the week before when they were here and they're like, well, we got to build more than that, you know, and so it's a lot of fun to see even just the competitiveness kind of come out in people as they do it.
Speaker 2:But of course, we always want to make sure that they have a safe experience, and so we we try to limit some of that so that they don't rush ahead and get hurt.
Speaker 1:But it's very safe.
Speaker 2:We hardly ever have any injuries.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is true and I know that. You know I tried to get at our brokerage. They do what they call red day every year and it's one day a year where we, everyone in the, you know brokerage goes out and does something in the community. Um, really, it's keller williams wide, so, worldwide, you know they do something. So I've tried to get it to where we could do a furniture build and you guys are always so like booked, which is amazing and makes me very happy.
Speaker 1:But you, you guys are like, you know, you could just build these like solder kits and like, and then we'll come pick them up for you, absolutely so, you know, anyone listening. If you're not able to, you know, get on their calendar because they are so popular, because this is such a unique you know experience for volunteers. This is such a unique you know experience for volunteers. You can reach out and find out what you know they'll send you. You guys were so great. You sent me a link to exact kits to order and, you know, then we were able to order those and then we put them together and we had two different shifts and we did, you know, the same type of thing Like well, the first shift did this, so can you guys do more? You know things like that.
Speaker 1:So, um, I think it's great that you guys have all these different ways that people can get involved. Um, you know, obviously, time, talent, treasure are the types of things that you know any any non-profit is looking for, but I think you guys have done a really, really great job of creating different opportunities. Um, and I also would love for you guys to talk about your really fun fundraising event that you do each year. I was here whenever it started and back then it was literally just a couple of beds, so it's the bed race. But whenever we first started, it was literally just like one street that we shut down and there was only a few teams. But it was so much fun and so many people loved it and I've literally been watching over the years as it grows and it just makes me so happy. So I'd love for you guys to talk about, you know, the bed race and just kind of like the impact that it has. You know in any details that you'd love for people to know about so that they can get involved?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the bed race is a lot of fun and it's really creative and, but it's very tied to the mission, right? And so it's not just some activity. That's kind of you know, tangential to what we do. It literally is, you know, kind of incorporating the, the essence of who we are, and and and and so it's just what you said it's. It's it's a bed with four wheels that gets pushed down a track by four team members. The 15 member is literally riding the bed and they race against another team and uh, and it's such a blast because it's you know it's. It's.
Speaker 2:It's not like a, you know a long race where you need to train for months to be prepared for it's. You know it's running down a 50 yard track and and and and then you have, you know, 10 or 15 minutes before the next race. But what I love about it is that we encourage the teams to really lean into it and have fun with it, to really lean into it and have fun with it. And so every year, teams come with some sort of creative theme for their bed and their costumes. They dress up in costumes and we've had Gilligan's Island where the bed was literally a boat, wow, and everybody was dressed like the skipper and Gilligan and Ginger and you know the whole nine yards and we've had, you know, all sorts of really creative and fun ways for people to kind of, you know, get into the mood. It's such a blast, it's so creative to see what people come up with.
Speaker 2:It's grown to as many as 30 teams. Now we have both a competitive and a non-competitive division. So if you just want to get out there and have fun, that's, you know, by means, you know, always welcome. But there are those teams that they really want to win the final prize and so they're wanting to really be competitive. You can go that direction as well. And what we've started to have is actually within the event kind of minor competitions. So if there are competitive industries, so maybe it's a couple of realtor brokerages that are both there and they want to compete against each other for kind of bragging rights.
Speaker 2:We've had corporate partners who have had as many as ten teams from their own corporation. So they have their own competition embedded in the middle where they have bragging rights for the best team from their corporation, and so it's. We really try to make it a fun experience. We have a DJ out, we have a kids zone, so that you know it's a family-friendly event and it really is a blast. We're excited we're going to be hosted this year up in the new Hamilton Quarter, up on the northeast side of Columbus, at the White Oak Partners Building in their big parking lot. We're going to take over the whole parking lot and really just have a great morning parking lot. We're going to take over the whole parking lot and really just have a great morning.
Speaker 2:It's September 28th and we're accepting teams now. So you go to our website, furniturebankcohorg, go to our bed race page and you can learn all about it. You can sign up a team Teams. It's only $250. Thank you, adam. I was like I want to make sure I got that right, but $250. $250. Thank you, adam. I was like I want to make sure I got that right, but $250 to register a team. We encourage teams that, if they want, they can do peer-to-peer fundraising. Beyond that, we have prizes for the best fundraiser and the best team that raises the most money, so there's other ways that you can engage and it really is just a blast. It's a lot of fun. Since I've come to the Furniture Bank, it's one of the highlights of the year because it really is a joy to see everybody pulling together for this one purpose, which is to make sure every family in our community has access to a bed and decent furniture.
Speaker 3:And, just to add, we will actually have raffle prizes as well. And then I know you've mentioned some different ways for folks to possibly get involved outside of maybe donating furniture if they don't have anything around right now. We are accepting volunteers for that event as well, which that information is listed online, and then any businesses or any groups out there who may not want to team and want to do something a little bit different. We're also accepting sponsorships, so that information's listed on the website as well. If anybody has any interest in helping sponsor the event and make it an even better time, then there's a lot of different ways to get involved.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that and I'll definitely, in the show notes, have links to your website, your socials, because I think you guys have been doing a lot more with social media and all of that, which is amazing, so I'll make sure that all those links are in there. You know, obviously, the website, the bed race, all of that stuff, so I love that we've covered. You know, all the different ways that people can, you know, get involved and support you and help this amazing mission. So I guess my last question is just you know what's next, like, what's the next big thing that you guys are working on? Um, you know, obviously, when I pulled up, there was a ton of construction going on out there, um, so you know, if you could just kind of walk us through, like, what's the? What's the next big thing that you guys are doing for the community?
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you for asking that so we're really excited.
Speaker 2:We are in the beginning stages of what we call the Furnishing Our Community Plan, and it really is a plan to allow us to get to the place where we need to be organizationally so that we can meet that furniture need for our community. We believe that as many as 6,000 families a year need access to basic furniture, and in order for us to be able to accommodate that, we needed to make some structural changes, and so we have been working over the last couple years to get to this point where you saw that we broke ground a little while ago on a 50 plus thousand square foot warehouse right here in Franklinton you, you know, very near the center of the city, and that warehouse is really going to become a new furniture distribution hub for the broader columbus metropolitan area, and so we're very excited for that. It is going to allow us to make sure that we have access to the furniture that we need and collecting that and storing that, because people donate furniture whenever it's convenient for them and there's really kind of a cycle to that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But the demand is pretty consistent year around, and so we need to be able to store up furniture when there's plenty and then draw down on it when the families have that need, and so this facility is really going to help facilitate that. It's also going to allow us to expand our wood shop, which we've talked about, and we'll be able to have bigger groups build more furniture and accommodate, you know, more opportunities to build that furniture, and so we're very excited to expand the wood shop. And then we're going to also renovate our current headquarters, which we've been here about 17 or 18 years in this facility and it's time for some renovations and really building out our office space so that we can continue to grow as an organization.
Speaker 2:And then the final piece of that is really adding a second showroom and that piece we talked about to allow our clients to come in and select their furniture. That takes some time and we got to make sure we have enough furniture on the floor to hit all of the clients that we have coming in in a given day, and so adding a second showroom right here on site is going to allow us to accommodate that as well as position us as we think about growing to the broader central Ohio community, putting in satellite offices in various other neighboring cities so that we can make sure that everybody in the central Ohio metropolitan area has access to the basic furniture that they need. So we're very excited about the growth. It's time. We've been around for 26 years as an organization and we're excited to take this step to make sure that we can meet that that furniture need of the community.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that big vision, cause I know it's, you know, definitely going to make such a huge impact. I love that you guys have done the social enterprises. You know that again, so you're not just putting all your eggs in a philanthropy basket, which you know, unfortunately, a lot of nonprofit organizations do. So I love that you guys are kind of diversifying that funding but also you know reaching people's needs and you know meeting people where they're at. So I really I love what you guys are doing. So, thank you.
Speaker 2:Sarah yeah, absolutely yeah, of course, of course. So, like I said, I love what you guys are doing, so thank you, sarah. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course, of course. So, like I said, I will have everything in the show notes, all the different links for people to get involved If they want to donate money or time or furniture, anything that is needed. It will all be in there. So thank you guys so much for taking time out of your day to meet with me.
Speaker 2:Our pleasure.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, thank you so much for tuning in. Definitely make sure that you are leaving a review Feedback is the greatest gift that you can give. Make sure you're sharing this with others, because that is the greatest compliment that you can give to Phil, adam and myself, and also make sure that you are following the show so you never miss an episode. So, thank you and see you next time on Come to Find Out.