We Honor New Life Furniture Bank – Transformation Award honoree

We pay tribute to New Life Furniture Bank – who has become well known in the region for the stellar work that they provide to our community.

New Life Furniture Bank was founded in 2006 by Holly Young, Tim Nabors, and volunteers from Milford First United Methodist Church. They work in partnership with InterFaith Hospitality Network (IHN) which provides emergency shelter to homeless families.

For the first few years, New Life Furniture Bank was a small ministry of Milford First United Methodist Church then in 2009 became a 501(C)3 Furniture Bank. New Life Furniture Bank started by serving 6 households to serving 600 households per year in just a few years.

These days, New Life Furniture Bank serves over thousands of households per year and partners with over 70 social service agencies.

We talked with New Life’s Executive Director Dana Saxton about receiving the Transformation Award.

Saxton explains:

“It is an honor to be recognized as a 2023 Transformation Award honoree and we are incredibly grateful for our partnership with The Center for Respite Care to help those in need. We know that, together, we are stabilizing individuals overcoming devastating circumstances, changing lives, and making a lasting impact. We are grateful for this recognition and look forward to working together to help those in need for many years to come!”

Importantly, New Life Furniture Bank is the first in the region.

“New Life Furniture Bank is the region’s “furniture bank” collecting gently used furniture and household items and delivering them directly to individuals and families in need. We partner with over 70 social service agencies providing direct support to those starting over. Last year we fully furnished 1,949 homes with 27,274 pieces of furniture for 4,244 people….half were children. When individuals or families experience homelessness, they often lose all their home furnishings. We make sure when they move back into new housing, they have everything they need to start over,” Saxton said.

The organization has lofty goals — which we believe they will realize — based on their passion and track record. According to Saxton:

“New Life Furniture Bank’s mission is to provide gently used furniture to people in need. Our vision is to help end the cycle of homelessness by making sure that every person coming out of a sheltering situation into new housing receives essential home furnishings and no child sleeps on the floor. Over 6,000 people experience homelessness every year in the Greater Cincinnati area. It’s estimated that over ½ will need our services when starting over. NLFB is aggressively building capacity, community awareness, and support to meet that need. Our goal is to furnish 4,000 homes annually by 2026.”

We are grateful to pay tribute to this vibrant and critical place. Thank you to New Life Furniture for all that you do.

“Through partnerships with agencies like the Center for Respite Care, we restore dignity, pride of ownership, and hope for a better future. It has been an honor and privilege to be your partner and serve alongside your dedicated, compassionate team to help those overcoming homelessness and recovering from medical and physical illness. Thank you!” Saxton said.