For over four decades, family-owned ABW Appliances has been a go-to resource for homeowners throughout Northern Virginia, DC, and Baltimore looking to spruce up their home. But they aren’t just selling high-quality appliances to renovation-ready homeowners. They’re also active participants in helping their own community through donations of home appliances to those in need.
Community Forklift’s goal is to provide low cost and free building materials and home improvement supplies to our community, both enabling residents to access items at a more affordable price and helping the environment by keeping surplus items out of landfills. ABW Appliances supports our mission because they understand the impact that a new microwave or refrigerator can have on one person’s life.
Through our Home Essentials Program, ABW Appliances has partnered with Community Forklift to donate appliances to those who otherwise might not have access. Thanks to their generosity, we’ve also been able to work with our partner nonprofit organizations to provide home appliances to those who are in need.
ABW Appliances provided two countertop microwaves to Community Forklift, which enabled us to assist Welcome Home Neighbor in setting up two families transitioning from shelters into new homes. This volunteer-driven organization in Hyattsville helps families settle into comfortable, safe home environments by providing them with donated furniture, small appliances, and household items.
“I didn’t have anything for the kids to heat up simple food like noodles. The microwave is really working out well. It’s spacious, and heats very fast. It comes in handy. I love it, it’s one of the best things I got!,” said one of the families, as relayed by Mark Betancourt, Co-Coordinator at Welcome Home Neighbor.
Meanwhile, through Community Forklift’s own Home Essentials Program (HELP), ABW Appliances provided a fridge, which was delivered to a family in Prince George’s County living on a limited income. This family of four no longer had a working refrigerator, and receiving a new refrigerator was a lifeline for eating nutritious meals at home.
A refrigerator was also given to a resident who came to Community Forklift’s HELP program thanks to friends of his who work at one of Community Forklift’s nonprofit partners. The Montgomery County senior now has a brand-new fridge to replace his old leaking appliance. And, as a staff member at the nonprofit reported, “He was so excited; he showed me today how nice it is, and already decorated it with his magnets.”
Beyond their work with Community Forklift, ABW Appliances also works with local non-profits through #ABWgives, which donates $10 to a selected organization from every appliance sale during a designated time period.
Want to become a part of the important mission to bring necessary home supplies to those in your own neighborhood and community? Learn more about our Community Giving programs and how you can support our work in providing free materials to both individuals with limited incomes and groups and organizations within our region.
HOME ESSENTIALS PROGRAM
Community Forklift provides free home repair supplies and other materials to households with limited incomes through our Home Essentials Program. If you or someone you know needs items but will have difficulty paying for them, please visit our website to learn more and apply!
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
