Rooms To Go Event to Benefit Hurricane Katrina Survivors

Furniture World Magazine

Rooms To Go and the non-profit National Furniture Bank Association (NFBA) are holding an event to celebrate the grand opening of the New Orleans Furniture Bank. Rooms To Go will deliver a house full of new furniture to a Kenner, Louisiana, family whose home was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Veronica Smith is a single mother of four girls; a 3-yearold, twin 11-year-olds, and a 13-year-old. Cindy Crawford will be make an appearance at the Rooms To Go store in Metairie. Also in attendance will be executives from Rooms To Go, the National Furniture Bank Association, the New Orleans Furniture Bank, and Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans. The purpose of the event is to explain the assistance Rooms To Go is providing to families in need; the ongoing efforts of the National Furniture Bank Association; and the mission of the New Orleans Furniture Bank. WHEN: Delivery of furniture to the Smith family: Saturday, March 17 2007 at 11:00 AM. Rooms To Go event: Saturday, March 17 2007 at 4:00 PM. WHERE: The delivery of furniture to the Smith’s home will be at 1010 Webster Street in Kenner, LA 70062. The Rooms To Go event will be held at the Rooms To Go superstore at 5800 Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie, LA 70003. BACKGROUND: The National Furniture Bank Association (NFBA) is the unified charitable organization of the home furnishings industry. The NFBA administers Help1Up, the completely free, socially responsible and environmentally friendly used furniture removal service for the general public. Made possible through a network of dozens of furniture banks across the country, people wishing to dispose of their gently used furniture make an appointment for a pick up, and are given a tax-deductible receipt. The furniture bank then directly provides the furniture to families in need. Furniture banks in America provide used furniture to over 100,000 families each year. Typical clients of furniture banks are victims of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, mothers and children escaping domestic violence, and working families living below the poverty line. The NFBA and the Help1Up service also protects the environment. Furniture banks keep over one million pieces of perfectly usable furniture out of landfills and incinerators every year. Rooms To Go is the nation’s largest furniture retailer. The company believes strongly in being a good corporate citizen. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Rooms To Go has donated 4,000 complete rooms of furniture to the National Furniture Bank Association. The furniture was shipped free of charge to furniture banks serving Hurricane evacuees in Atlanta GA, Houston TX, Dallas TX, Orlando FL, and Augusta GA. Continuing to support families in need, Rooms To Go is devoting a portion of sales on Saturday, March 17 to the New Orleans Furniture Bank.