Renovated dorms participate in 'Great Furniture Giveaway'

Although those rickety old Hill House bed frames may have seemed unbearable to the average resident, they are a welcome sight for their new owners -- over a dozen local community service organizations. "The Great Furniture Giveaway," was an "unqualified success," according to the University's Assistant Director of Community and City Relations Sid Holmes. Over a three-week period in May and June, nearly 800 pieces of furniture -- including desks, tables, dressers and bed frames worth approximately $6,300 -- were distributed to 16 local organizations. The furnishings, which came from Hill, the three High Rises and the two Graduate Towers, are to be replaced with new, more contemporary furniture for the fall, according to University officials. "The stuff in Hill was about 35 years old," Holmes noted. "But the other furniture was a lot younger, and some of it was pretty nice too." He also added that the University "never had any intention" of disposing of the outdated furniture. "We didn't want to just throw it away," he said. "There's no reason for that when there are people out there in need." The idea to donate the furniture was proposed by Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, whose West Philadelphia district includes Penn. Blackwell was also able to put together a list of needy area organizations who could use the furnishings. "We're in regular communication with the organizations, so we know of their needs," Blackwell explained. "The service organizations are overjoyed as are the people we have received calls and letters from, thanking us for the donations." Women Against Abuse Counseling Director Diane Hall -- whose organization received 40 bed frames, 5 desks, 20 pedestals, 20 tables and 20 dressers -- said the donations will help to dramatically cut costs for the center, which serves as an emergency shelter for battered women and their children. "We were able to throw out all the old beds," Hall said. "And we put the dressers in the clients rooms, which didn't have any before." Hall added that although her organization does receive aid from the University in the form of student nurse assistants, it has never before received a furniture donation of this magnitude. "We certainly don't usually get donations to that extent," she explained. "Not 40 beds? we might get one here or there." And Willie Little, program director of Youth Emergency Services on Fairmount Avenue, called the sturdiness of the furniture the "best part" of the deal. "For the most part, we have to purchase our own furniture and unfortunately, the stuff you would usually buy for a home, just doesn't stand up to typical adolescent use," said Little, whose organization serves as a temporary shelter for runaway and homeless adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. "What we received from Penn just kind of fits right in though, because it's real strong and sturdy stuff." Although some organizations were able to make arrangements to haul their own furniture, the University was able to absorb the cost for the groups without vehicles, according to Holmes. And almost all of the furnishings were given away, with the possible exception of the desks that came out of Hill. "Those were the only things that weren't 100 percent placed," Holmes said. "Some of them were torn up pretty badly though, like the ones that had been attached to walls and were missing a leg because of it." Blackwell said she would like to see this sort of donation happen every time dorms are renovated and replaced with new furniture. "The University of Pennsylvania is committed to having this program continue," she said. "This is an ongoing relationship with the University and the community that I'll be helping to administer, both now and in the future."