Brook Furniture Rental Founder Bob Crawford Forms Brook Furniture Foundation

Business Wire, March 19, 1999

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 19, 1999--In celebration of its 20th anniversary, suburban Chicago-based Brook Furniture Rental, Inc. has formed the Brook Furniture Foundation, it was announced today by Brook CEO and Founder Bob Crawford.

Dedicated to serving the needs of support organizations for abused women and disadvantaged children, the foundation will make donations of residential and office furnishings to organizations throughout the Chicago area, with plans to expand nationally in the years to come.

As Crawford made the announcement at Brook Furniture Rental's 20th anniversary celebration at the Civic Opera House today, he committed to donate furniture worth $1 million over the next five years. At the same time, Crawford also awarded the foundation's first grant of $25,000 in office and residential furniture to the Chicago Abused Women Coalition.

"In the 20 years that Brook has been serving the business and residential community, we've succeeded by making service the number one word in our vocabulary," said Crawford. "We know the meaning of that word very well. Truly being a service-oriented company goes beyond serving our customers. It means serving our community and the people who need us most."

According to the American Medical Association, family violence is the largest single cause of injury to women in the United States, more common than automobile accidents, muggings and rapes combined. It touches one-fourth of all American families and is responsible for more than one-third of all female murder victims.

The Chicago Abused Women Coalition was founded in 1977 as Chicago's first 24-hour domestic hotline and in 1979 opened Greenhouse Shelter, Chicago's first safe refuge for battered women and their children.

"This gift of furniture will have an incredible impact on our organization," said Olga Becker, executive director of the Chicago Abused Women Coalition. "In 1998, we provided direct service to more than 1,065 women and children. However, the need for service far outpaces our ability to help. Every month, Greenhouse Shelter is forced to turn away more than 600 women and children requesting emergency shelter."

In its ongoing commitment to end violence against women and children, Brook Furniture Rental will accept applications from groups dedicated to providing assistance to abused women and children. A gift will be made annually on March 18, the anniversary of Brook's founding. Organizations interested in receiving an application can call Bob Crawford at 847-593-0343.

Brook Furniture Rental, based in Arlington Heights, Illinois, is a nationally recognized provider of upscale rental furnishings to the residential, commercial and convention markets. With locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, California, Nevada, Texas, Georgia, Florida and New Jersey, Brook has 21 showrooms, seven distribution centers, four clearance centers and a staff of more than 400 team members.