Abu Dhabi: A charity project that collects used furniture from residents and distributes it among needy families is expanding its scope from next month.
Along with residents, hotels will also be able donate used furniture under the ‘Share our blessing’ programme of Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) Authority, a senior official told Gulf News.
“We are collecting around 300 pieces of used furniture from residents every month since this programme was launched in February 2016. Now, we are going to give a chance to hotels [to donate their used furniture],” Sultan Al Shehi, manager of Share our Blessing programme, said in an interview at his Musaffah office in Abu Dhabi.
He said ERC is planning to make agreements with hotels. “Most hotels discard their furniture almost every year. Through this programme, they can utilise it for a good cause,” Al Shehi said.
The official said many needy families across the UAE were very happy to receive good quality furniture through the programme.
He said the ERC’s team packs the furniture and distributes it to the needy immediately. “As we collect good quality furniture only, we don’t need to repair them. Therefore, we have made an arrangement for packing only,” the official explained.
“Sometimes we have a long list of donors. Still we manage to send our vehicle within a week to collect it,” Al Shehi said.
Like the programme chooses suitable furniture from donors by WhatsApp, the needy also get the same chance. “In response to a request from the needy, we send pictures of some furniture to them. They are free to choose one from the pictures,” he said.
About identifying beneficiaries, Al Shehi said, the authority already had a list of beneficiaries who had requested help. “The needy can visit any of our branches or call up the designated toll free number-800733 to get help [including used furniture],” he said.
He said both donors and the needy across the UAE could contact the authority.
“We distribute charity goods all over the country,” Al Shehi said.
How to donate
Residents who wish to donate used furniture can call up the ERC’s toll-free number — 8005011 — between 8.30am and 2pm on working days.
The programme staff will contact the donors and check the details of the furniture.
The donors will then be asked send pictures of the furniture by WhatsApp.
Once ERC is satisfied about the quality of furniture in the picture, it will give donors a date and time when it will collect the furniture from the donor’s homes.
Needy families who need furniture can call 800733
