Charitable Reuse furniture . In 2003 they shipped 20 . Then 85 in 2004 . Then 259 in 2005 , and from there the program has kept growing . Through mid-2017 IRN has shipped more than 5,500 trailers filled with furniture , provided by 535 organizations in 28 states , and supplying more than 125 nonprofit schools and charities in 43 states and 60 countries around the world . That ’ s charitable reuse .
How Reuse Works
According to IRN CEO Mark Lennon , simplicity and cost are the keys to IRN ’ s Reuse Program . “ We know that nearly every school is overwhelmed , understaffed , and working within a tight budget . We know we have to make sure that reuse is just as simple as throwing old furniture away , and costs less . Reuse has to be the easy choice .”
The first step is to get an inventory of the furniture to be disposed of . This is what IRN offers charities . “ A great thing about working with K-12 schools is that so many charities need the furniture .” “ Education is the best route out of poverty , but it ’ s hard to get much education sitting on a dirt floor . The charities we work with are desperate to acquire classroom furniture and everything that goes with it — libraries , cafeterias , science rooms , teachers ’ desks . K 12 is the gold standard of all the furniture we handle — we can ’ t get enough of it .”
With the inventory , IRN makes a match with the most appropriate charity or charities . Says COO Dana Draper , “ Shipping costs are the important variables . Charities working in East Asia want shipments from the West Coast ; those in Africa and the Middle East want shipments from the East . Shipments to the Caribbean and South America are most cost-effective from the East Coast or Gulf States . We do a lot of projects in New Mexico and Colorado , and those shipments can go in any direction , into Tribal Schools , or overland into Mexico . And we work with charities that support schools in American cities and in Appalachia . They ’ re looking for freight to originate as close as possible to the recipients .”
Labor is the next resource required . Sometimes IRN hires movers , but they prefer if the school or district contracts directly . “ Most districts have movers that they already rely on ,” says Draper , “ people who know their schools and know how they operate . We don ’ t want to get in the middle of those relationships . And if the school contracts directly , we don ’ t take a markup , and that helps keep costs low .”
With recipients and a labor force lined up , the project is ready to go . IRN coordinates with the charity to set up transportation , with the mover to get the crew onsite , and with the school or district to make sure the doors are open , lights are turned on , and parking space is reserved for tractor trailers . A small project may involve a crew of three or four men loading a single trailer in the morning . A large project may span a week or more , with multiple crews loading trailers simultaneously from different doorways , or crews moving between a dozen different schools loading 20 or 30 trailers over the course of three weeks .
“ No two projects are the same .” “ Large and small . With elevators and without . In 90 degrees and roasting , or minus-10 and freezing . But the goal is always the same : keep it efficient ,
EDspaces Spotlight
Learn more about Charitable Reuse at EDspaces 2017 . Mark Lennon will join a panel on Thursday , October 26 from 1:30 pm-2:30 pm for a presentation on “ Charitable Reuse : Managing Surplus Furniture for Financial , Social , Environmental , and Community Benefit ”.
keep it cost-effective , finish on time , finish within budget .”
The Bottom Line : Schools Saving Money ; People Helping People
IRN did its first K-12 project in 2004 : two trailers , 18,000 pounds total , from schools in New Hampshire and Connecticut . Since then , IRN has worked with 96 more schools and districts from Maine to Southern California and from Florida to Washington . IRN ’ s biggest K-12 project recovered more than a half-million pounds from a school district near Denver ; the smallest captured 640 pounds — a few desks and file cabinets — from a small independent school in the Boston suburbs . In 2017 IRN has another 40 K-12 projects on their schedule , and expects to fill another 300-350 trailers with desks , activity tables , bookshelves , and other furniture for children around the world .
“ IRN gave us a four-win solution ,” says Donna Woodcock , principal of the Greenfield High School in Massachusetts , where IRN removed more than 1,100 pieces for charitable reuse . “ Our community and taxpayers win , we send the right message to our students , the environment wins , and children far away get the biggest benefit of all . It ’ s not often that a single project can do so much good .” n
MARK LENNON is founder and CEO of
IRN-The Reuse Network , which matches surplus assets from U . S . organizations with charities worldwide . Before IRN Mark was recycling coordinator for the State of New Hampshire , where he created and implemented the state ’ s first recycling plan . Earlier , Mark was a consultant to the U . S . EPA and other clients in waste and energy issues . essentials | www . edmarket . org 27