Crews from Art Van Furniture and ACCESS unload a trailer of furniture and flooring supplies at the ACCESS Youth and Family Services Center, 2651 Saulino Court, Friday. Art Van donated more than $300,000 in goods to victims of the Aug. 11 floods in the metropolitan Detroit area. About 40 families in Dearborn were recipients of the goods.
By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — More than 500 families in metropolitan Detroit affected by recent flooding — 40 of which are in Dearborn — will be recipients of new furniture and flooring remnants because of donations from Art Van Furniture.
The company announced Sept. 22 it was donating more than $300,000 in goods.
Art Van Furniture Founder and Chairman Art Van Elslander said the donations will help families in need and he hopes that other Michigan companies will follow suit and help those affected by the floods.
“The unexpected destruction and loss of furnishings and personal possessions caused by last month’s storms has been devastating to families from Detroit to Dearborn, Warren to Southfield, and Huntington Woods to Hazel Park,” Elslander said. “We have a responsibility to help our neighbors in need.”
Art Van will donate 300 sofas, more than 200 dressers, 100 mattresses and 100 flooring remnants to residents with limited resources to replace what they lost in the Aug. 11 flooding.
The company will distribute the materials through local social services such as ACCESS in Dearborn, Focus: Hope, the American Red Cross and Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit.
ACCESS Executive Director Hassan Jaber said that the organization was “pleased to take part in such a noble cause.”
“We are grateful for this generous donation from Art Van,” Jaber said. “An overwhelming number of people suffered great loss from last summer’s flooding. Many of the are still working to recover.”
ACCESS Communications Specialist Shaffwan Ahmed said about 40 families in Dearborn would be recipients of the goods, which were distributed Friday from the ACCESS Youth and Family Services Center, 2651 Saulino Court.
“We have quite a few families will needs after the floods because so much material was damaged and destroyed,” Ahmed said. “We are glad to be a part of this donation from Art Van and it will really help people in the community who can’t replace their destroyed furniture.”
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected].)