Above / As part of Fire Safety Month, Sharing Connections launches Safe at Home, an initiative that provides a new kit with essential home safety tools to underserved households, a record number of families in need despite record low unemployment.
October 15, 2018 (Downers Grove, IL) – In response to a growing need and in recognition of Fire Safety Month, Sharing Connections, Chicagoland’s oldest and largest furniture bank, announced the launch of their Safe at Home initiative.
Through this program, Sharing Connections will begin supplying home safety kits to the clients they serve to help protect their households. For more than 30 years, Sharing Connections has been providing families in need with furniture, beds, clothing and other key household items to assist their transition out of homelessness. The new safety kit includes a combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector, a home fire extinguisher, a home first aid kit and a home safety checklist.
“Our mission is to furnish hope to families in need. After recent devastating apartment fires in Chicago and around the country, we were reminded that families starting out or starting over need safety and peace of mind as much as they need a place to eat and sleep,” said Deb Rickert, Chief Executive Officer, Sharing Connections. “Through the generosity of two of our corporate sponsors and several individual donors, we were able to fund Safe at Home kits for every household we will serve through the end of the year, and we hope to continue the program into 2019.”
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Despite record low unemployment, Sharing Connections has seen record numbers of families in need. Year to date, the number of individuals served has risen 23 percent over 2017 levels. Families receive, on average, furniture and household items valued at over $3,100 to get them started on their journey of hope, nearly a twofold increase over the same time frame in 2017.
“This is a time of unprecedented growth for Sharing Connections,” said Tom Hushek, President of Sharing Connections’ Board of Trustees. “We have seen more families in need in 2018, and we are grateful that individuals and businesses in Chicago and the western suburbs have stepped up to support our work and help us meet that need.”
“The Safe at Home initiative, like many of our efforts, is possible because of the generosity of Arco Murray Design Build and Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. as well as the unwavering commitment of individual donors and volunteers,” said Rickert.
Volunteers will begin assembling the kits this week and distributing them to clients who are seeking household furnishing and other assistance through Sharing Connections.
Sharing Connections distributes donated furniture, household items, personal care items and holiday gifts for children to thousands of individuals annually. The families served by Sharing Connections include the previously homeless, unemployed and working poor, veterans, victims of domestic violence, immigrants, individuals with development or physical disabilities and victims of fire, flood, robbery and natural disasters.
For more information, visit www.SharingConnections.org.
