Find new life for your furniture through Mary’s Place in Seattle

I’m sure a lot of you can relate, you’re moving to a new place and decide you want to change up your furniture, leaving you with the question, “What the heck do I do with this bed frame, couch, or kitchen table?”

You could take the classic route of posting on social media marketplaces or giving it to thrift stores. Both great options, but what if you could help a family in need instead? 

Last week, while I was moving, I came across the Make-A-Home program, one of the services of Mary’s Place. 

Mary’s Place furniture donations

Olga Chinka, the Make-A-Home program coordinator at Mary’s Place, through a simple series of emails, helped me get connected with a family that recently found housing and needed furniture. 

“Basically, Make-A-Home is a service that we provide for families as they transition out of homelessness into secure housing,” Chinka said. “By partnering with donors in the community, we try our best to provide for each family at the very minimum, a couch to sit on, a table to eat at, and beds for every family member to sleep on. 

“Many times, we’re able to provide a lot more items, but it just depends on what is being offered to us. Since we are solely donation-based, and we kind of rely on the community to help us take care of each family,” Chinka continued.

The program works by a donor sending photos to Mary’s Place of each item they are willing to part with, including any damage it might have. Everything Mary’s Place receives is in used condition.

“For our families, if it’s a matter of sleeping on the floor or sleeping on a bed that maybe has a broken drawer or a little bit of scratches on the legs or something, we would rather just show our families the damage and let them decide if it’ll work with them,” Chinka said.

The organization sends out a list of families who are in need of the items to the donor, asking them which location works best for them.

“I know that it’s a big ask on our part to have our donors not only donate items, but to deliver to the family’s home as well,” Chinka said. “So we kind of just go with whatever works for the donor.”

Saeed’s Mary’s Place story

I decided to part ways with some of my used furniture, and by doing so, I met Saeed. Saeed is an immigrant from Africa who arrived in Seattle with his daughter and found Mary’s Place, telling them about his journey.

“My first time coming to Washington or the U.S., I was homeless. Totally homeless, and I was recommended to get a place where Mary’s Place stayed,” Saeed said. “I went to the office of Mary’s Place, and I just [told] them my story. ‘Hey, I’m coming from Africa, and I have never had anyone to help me.'”

Mary’s Place figured it out that day. He said the services provided by Mary’s Place were an answer to his prayers.

“Mary’s Place is a wonderful association, and in Washington, I cannot imagine that there is anyone, any association, or a group that helps like Mary’s Place,” Saeed said. “We cannot repay Mary’s Place for what they are doing to immigrants, refugees, and many people all around. We always pray for them, because we can never pay what Mary’s Place and the switch or group are doing.”

Mary’s Place helps all around

In addition to helping find furniture, Mary’s Place also helps cover rent and moving costs, including for Saeed. Chinka said the Make-A-Home program has been around since 2018 as a response to the challenges people face when trying to furnish the homes they have worked so hard to find.

“As families move into housing, a lot of times they’re unable to get furniture on their own,” Chinka said. “Many times, it’s because they’re just so incredibly low income, they don’t have access to a vehicle, and just logistically, it’s a nightmare trying to figure out how to get furniture home on the bus.”

Chinka said she has a personal connection to this work. 

“I, myself, kind of know what our families have been going through,” she said. “My own family came from Ukraine in the early 90s, and we were in a similar situation where we were literally just sleeping on a bed or on a mattress on the floor that our neighbor had donated to us, and a local church found out about our situation and kind of came together to fully furnish our home.”

Chinka said that the day she came home and saw the furniture was life-changing, and it allowed them to feel comfortable enough to start inviting friends and family into their home.

Delivery obstacles for Mary’s Place

One of the biggest challenges the program faces? Furniture delivery. As Chinka mentioned before, the Make-A-Home program relies not only on donations, but for those donating to drop off the furniture to the families. 

“Delivery is definitely the biggest obstacle that our amazing donors face. I like to send just a list of some companies that we’ve partnered with in the past, who offer a little bit more cost-effective or efficient prices, but currently, we don’t have a way to do any kind of pickup,” Chinka said. “Right now, we don’t have anywhere to store items, and our delivery vans that we have for our shelters are not insured to go to residential areas. They’re only allowed to go from shelter to shelter. Right now, we’re at a kind of disadvantage, where we rely very heavily on donors being able to deliver.”

Through the generous donations and efforts of the staff and volunteers, more families are filling their homes with furniture, and used items are finding new life instead of being discarded. 

Life-changing connections through Mary’s Place

I won’t forget talking to Saeed and seeing his reaction when I arrived with a bed frame I was willing to donate. It was a reminder that when we can step up and help others, we should take full advantage of that opportunity, even if it means spending an hour on a Saturday packing up the car and delivering some furniture. Not only did it feel good to see it avoid the dump, but it also showed the importance of having a home and having the things that make it feel like one.

“Through Mary’s Place, I’m getting furniture,” Saeed said. “Today, I got a big sofa for my daughter, and I got a headboard with everything through Mary’s Place. I will never forget Mary’s Place.”

Donate furniture to Mary’s Place

Are you interested in helping? 

“If you go to our main website, you can see all of the different ways that you can help. If you’re able to help financially, you can donate or become part of our homes team, and that’s how we are able to find all of our operating expenses and shelter,” Chinka said. “If you sign up on our volunteer site, you will be shown every opportunity that is available at all of our shelters, and you can go from there, kind of figure out what you would prefer to do, whether it’s helping to serve a meal at one of the shelters or organize at the warehouse.

If you have furniture to donate, you can reach out to makeahome@marysplaceseattle.org.

“I know, right now, we have a big need for people who are willing to help our families,” Chinka continued.

So if you are getting ready to move this summer and don’t want to run a side job as a used furniture salesperson on Facebook, reach out to Mary’s Place and help turn a space into a home for a family in need. 

Read more of Paul Holden’s stories here.