United Way of Southwest Louisiana and the City of Lake Charles will distribute new furniture to families with documented storm-related damages through a casework system. The furniture was donated by a retailer and Good360.
“We are fortunate to have a wide variety of contacts and we received a call about brand-new furniture from a major retailer. We were not sure how we were going to do it, but we had no doubt we could,” explains Denise Durel, President and CEO of United Way of Southwest Louisiana. “Buying furniture as a low-income family is difficult under normal circumstances, but now we’ve had layoffs, cut hours and hurricanes. Furniture is not something they can replace easily.”
“When I got the call from Denise that this was happening I was very excited because there are a lot of people in Southwest Louisiana who desperately need this right now,” explained Nic Hunter, Mayor of Lake Charles. “United Way is going to help hundreds of local families with furniture and it may sound like a very simple thing, but with everything that’s happened over the last six months there are a lot of people out there that need furniture in their homes.”
Families with documented losses can apply online at unitedwayswla.org/furnitureapp and a caseworker will be assigned. Once approved, a pick-up time will be arranged for March 3-5. Applicants must arrange to pick up the furniture at the appointment time.
All unclaimed furniture from appointments will be given out at a drive-through event open to the public at a later date.
Volunteers are needed for the week of March 1-5 to assist with sorting and assembling. Volunteers must be prepared for heavy lifting and assembling furniture. Anyone interested in joining a morning or afternoon shift can apply for a position online at unitedwayswla.org/volunteer.
