What is Central Furniture Rescue?
Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Central Furniture Rescue serves its mission to provide furniture and household items at no cost to individuals and families who are transitioning out of homelessness and into their own places to live. It is also committed to recycling household items for reuse and helping reduce the amount of household items that are sent to the landfill.
Since 2019, Central Furniture Rescue has served more than 3,000 households. All clients are referred to the nonprofit organization through more than 30 community partnerships. Nearly half of all clients served across Eastern Iowa are children. The volunteers are committed to serving people who need it most, and they work hard to ensure that every client is treated with love, dignity, and kindness through their program and services.
Turning a Place to Live Into a Home
As an actively growing nonprofit organization, Central Furniture Rescue relies on the community’s support and contributions to maintain its operations. Through regular hours for physical donations and the ability to pick up donations, thanks to multiple sponsored trailers and an army of volunteers, furniture and household items are gifted to families an average of 20 days after they are referred to Central Furniture Rescue and have submitted a formal request for the donation. Individuals and families receive the following items and similar:
- Sofas and loveseats
- Recliners and rockers
- End tables
- Coffee tables
- Dressers
- Nightstands
- Bed frames and mattresses
- Bakeware
- Kitchen utensils
- Drinkware
- Silverware
- Towels and pot holders
- Pots and pans
- Small kitchen appliances, like coffee makers, crock pots, microwaves, and toasters
- Bedding
- Bath towels
- Trash cans
- Area rugs
- Laundry baskets
- Lamps
To keep donations flowing regularly, Central Furniture Rescue communicates with the community through wish lists on social media and regularly scheduled donation drives. Most recently, Wired Production Group staff participated in the blanket drive as volunteers prepared for the colder months. In total, WPG staff was able to purchase and donate 38 blankets! Our WPG Office Manager, Kim, and Marketing Director, Nicole Schroeder, loaded the van and delivered the blankets.
Partnership with Linn County Solid Waste Agency: A Better Option for Unwanted Furniture
Central Furniture Rescue actively recycles to help divert as much waste from the landfill as possible. Since the inception as a nonprofit, the organization has diverted over 860 tons of furniture and household items from the landfill. As a community partner, the Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency works to remind community members of other options besides the landfill for unwanted furniture and household items. With over 760 households served in 2024 alone, the need for usable household items, like furniture, is large, and the landfill is a place that can be an easy collection point for people who are unaware of Central Furniture Rescue’s mission.
Reusing items is even better than recycling. By keeping useable furniture items and more out of the landfill, individuals’ and families’ lives are improved by the offerings of Central Furniture Rescue. Before taking that old dresser, end table, lamp, or couch to the landfill, consider contacting Central Furniture Rescue to see if they would have a purpose for your donation as they make someone’s house into a home.
How to Support Central Furniture Rescue
Supporting Central Furniture Rescue can be done in a variety of ways:
- Donate household items: The organization accepts various household items. You can find a complete list of accepted items on their website, but think about furniture and household items you would use in your kitchen, dining room, living room, and bedrooms. Items can be dropped off at the warehouse on Mondays and Fridays between 10am and 4pm, along with the last Saturday of each month from 9am to 12pm. Other donation drop-off times and pick-ups can be arranged by phone at (319) 382-2882.
- Volunteer: Volunteers manage and execute all operations (yes! We’re serious! Volunteers make all this happen!) with one paid staff member. Central Furniture Rescue can fulfill its mission with just a few hours of volunteer time. From small tasks in the warehouse, like folding blankets, to assisting with deliveries and working on repair items in the workshop, there is something for everyone to participate in as a volunteer. The organization accepts individual and group volunteer commitments.
- Financial support: While donated items are sent straight to households as they transition into their new homes, monetary donations are necessary for Central Furniture Rescue to operate its warehouse, insure and gas up its delivery trucks, and more. Financial contributions to support Central Furniture Rescue’s mission are accepted via check, PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, or online.
To learn more about Central Furniture Rescue, please visit their website here.