How to donate furniture and kitchenware to newcomer families in Toronto

Furnishing a new home is an equally exciting and daunting task — it’s only fun when you can afford it.

So, if you have too many plates and spoons, if you’re getting a new, bigger couch, or simply buying bedsheets in your new favourite colour, don’t throw away your old items. If they’re still in good shape, donate them to families who can still make good use of them!

Refugees and newcomers arriving in Toronto with few belongings and limited income immediately face the task of setting up a new place to call home. According to CanadaHelps, a charity that supports non-profits across the country, it costs between $1,600 and $3,000 to buy essential, used furniture. Meanwhile, tons of furniture end up in the landfill every year. So, here’s one solution.

Home Essentials Newcomer Support (HENS) is a non-profit in Banbury-Don Mills that provides essential household items — seasonal clothing, footwear, kitchenware, bedding, bath accessories and furniture — to refugees, asylum seekers and newcomers arriving in Toronto. Its stated goal is to “help families create safe, functional and dignified homes as they settle into their new lives.”

Here’s everything you need to know

Items you can donate by drop-off or pick-up:

• • Clothing
  • Rugs
  • Bedding and bath items, such as bedsheets, pillowcases, towels and blankets.
  • Kitchenware, including pots, pans, plates, bowls, utensils and cutlery.
  • Small appliances, such as rice cookers, pressure cookers, microwaves, toaster ovens, air fryers, blenders, juicers, choppers and graters.

• HENS can also connect you with families looking for couches, beds, dressers and tables — but you’ll have to coordinate delivery or pick-up yourself.
• A good rule of thumb when choosing which items to donate is to assess whether you’d like to receive the item yourself.
  • HENS accepts gently used, clean and washed clothing, rugs and bedding, as well as functional appliances and kitchenware that aren’t stained or broken. 

• If you’d like to make in-kind donations, fill out this form or call 437-473-7023.

• You can drop off donations at The Donway Covenant United Church at 240 The Donway W.
• Volunteers can also pick up your non-furniture donations if needed.

• You can also donate money through the church’s website by selecting the option “3 – Home Essentials Newcomer Support” under the “Fund” tab.

If you don’t have any furniture or money to spare, you can still help out by volunteering with HENS. 

• Volunteer tasks include:
  • Sorting and organizing donated items at The Donway Covenant United Church.
  • Assisting newcomer families who come in to select household items.
  • Driving and delivering small items to families in the Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park area.

• You can sign up here.