Community Corner
Because Everyone Should Have a Place to Call 'Home'
Local hotel donates mattresses to New Haven-based Furniture Co-Op.
Last Thursday, Ralph Morrow, Manager of the Furniture Co-Op of New Haven Home Recovery lugged 14 full mattresses and one king from the here in Branford. These older mattresses would normally be discarded and Morrow is seeing that they find a new home with those in need.
Sweating and grunting just a bit as he loaded the last mattresses into the moving truck, Morrow, a very muscular guy who is a longtime North Branford resident and local celebrity as a youth softball hitting coach, said the lot of mattresses would be quick moving items at the Co-Op.
The Furniture Co-Op of NHHR serves families in need– mostly those transitioning from homeless to having their own apartments. For just $40, an individual can get four major pieces of furniture like a bed, sofa, and kitchen set, though Morrow explains, the mattresses are the most coveted items. “Some people have six kids,” said Morrow, “and they are sleeping on the floor.”
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Once Morrow obtains items like mattresses and other piece of furniture, they are brought to the Co-Op to be cleaned and readied for customers. The ones Morrow picked up last week, he anticipated, would be gone over the weekend. Sitting in the lobby of the hotel, he pointed to the coffee table and said, “See that coffee table? People would be fighting over this.”
While $40 will get clients major pieces of furniture, often, the cost is nothing as support agencies provide vouchers to people for the goods. All furniture is donated to the Co-Op and Morrow explains that large donations, like the one from Baymont, are vital to the success of the organization.
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Since 2009, Baymont Manager Daryl Gorey has given NHHR about 85 mattresses and box springs. With the hotel’s need to renovate rooms, Gorey explains the old mattresses would normally be thrown out. Not wanting to have to incur additional cost by disposing the mattresses or seeing them end up in a landfill, Gorey said, “It’s nice to take something that could have been a problem and get a good feeling about it.”
Morrow has one more pick-up to make at the hotel and then he’ll be looking for other opportunities to obtain items like mattresses. If you would like to donate or are in need of services from the Co-Op contact NHHR at 203-492-4866.
Branford’s own Mary Grande, the of the Board of Education is the Development Associate for NHHR and champions the partnership between the Co-Op and Baymont. “They are being a good corporate citizen and for that we are truly grateful,” said Grande. “Thanks to their generous contributions they have turned empty houses into homes.”
NHHR was established in 1990 as a non-profit agency by the Reverend Rosalie Richards. In addition to the Furniture Co-Op, the organization offers two shelter services for women and children as well as family stabilization services, more than 100 units of supportive housing and housing development for New Haven area clients.
Grande would like to invite the community to attend the 12th Annual Celebration Auction to support NHHR at Anthony’s Oceanview, April 27 from 5 to 9 p.m. Tickets for dinner and the live/silent auction are $50 a person or $90 per couple.
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