Turning an Empty House into a Home!
The St. John Vianney Furniture Bank serves families who are low income, unemployed, previously homeless, single parents, and refugees/immigrants. Referrals from United Way (211), social service agencies and local churches in Lake County are preferred for those wishing to receive furniture and appliances. Appointments for furniture can be made by calling our answering service at 440.255.3051. When you call in, please speak slowly and clearly and leave your name and phone number and someone from our organization will call you back to schedule an appointment. Please note that the phone line is an answering machine only and is NOT manned by volunteers. If you do not receive a return phone call within 3 days, please call back as sometimes your original message may be faint or hard to transcribe so we may not be able to hear your phone number to call you back.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the safety of our volunteers and those utilizing our ministry, the following procedures are in effect immediately and will be strictly enforced:
- Only the client and ONE other person can enter the warehouse to select furniture and household items. We prefer that all people entering the warehouse wear masks. Hand sanitizer will be provided but masks will not!
- The client must bring a photo ID with them.
- Adequate transportation to haul their selected furniture home. A list of truck rental locations are available on request. PLEASE NOTE: If you are renting a truck to pick up your furniture, it is strongly suggested that you reserve the truck at least one day BEFORE your scheduled appointment. It is especially difficult to reserve trucks on Saturdays if you are calling that morning.
- Please clean out your vehicle BEFORE coming to the furniture bank (i.e. trunks, back seats, truck beds, etc.) so that the furniture can be appropriately and safely placed in your vehicle! We have many scheduled appointments on any given day and it is unfair for others to wait while your vehicle is being cleaned out. We reserve the right to have individuals move their vehicle to the parking lot to clean it out and move other appointments ahead for these situations.
- Bring tie downs, bungee straps, rope, etc. to secure your furniture to your vehicle. In addition, for inclement weather conditions, please provide tarps, plastic, etc. to cover your load. The furniture bank is NOT required to supply any of these types of items to secure/protect the load.
Typical furniture available on most days (items may vary depending on previous donations):
- Mattresses / box springs / bed frames (limit one per family)
- Dressers / chests (limit one per family)
- Kitchen or Dining Room tables and chairs
- Couches, Love Seats, Living Room chairs
- End Tables and Lamps
- Appliances
- Household and Kitchen Items
Families are allowed 3 appointments in a 2 year period to get the furniture needed.
Beds for Kids
One of the greatest concerns is for children who are sleeping on something other than a suitable bed. In an effort to remedy this situation we started a special program in 2017 to provide "Beds for Kids".
The St. John Vianney Furniture Bank provides special beds for younger children ages 2-9, up to about 90 lbs. This is a NEW bed and consists of a metal bed frame with a 6" futon style mattress. Each of these special beds cost us $56 and are currently provided to the client for $25. We are working to raise adequate funds so that these beds could be provided at no cost. YOUR donation will help us achieve this goal.