The Furniture Trust Completes Biogen's Cambridge Reoptimization

The disposition of 9 floors of office space across two buildings gave way to 280 tons of furniture valued at $1.9 million. The furniture went to support the missions of 21 nonprofits across human services, educational, environmental, and religious organizations.

Biogen completed their Cambridge Re-Optimization project, transitioning multiple buildings in Kendall Square. As part of our long standing partnership with Biogen, The Furniture Trust was hired to ensure the decommission aspect of the project was orchestrated to create the biggest impact on the community with the least impact on the environment. The Furniture Trust partnered with the Biogen team and Cumming Group to organize the removal and donation of 9 floors of furniture across 2 buildings. The aggressive timeline from September 2022 to February 2023 required the team to work within the construction schedule, adapt to a continually developing project, and navigate multiple construction sites. It was truly a great team effort by all! Leveraging our Sustainable Network, The Furniture Trust was able to facilitate the decommission and donation of Biogen’s furniture, valued at $1.9 million to 21 nonprofits in the Boston area, impacting over 106,783 individuals!

RECIPIENTS

• Tobin High School

• Madison Park VocTech

• Boston Central Adult High School

• English School

• Day and Evening Academy

• Ellis Elementary

• Boston Arts Academy

• Boston Central Office

• John Silber Early Learning Center

• Kids in Tech

• Hingham Crew

• Lawrence High School

• Salem High

• Breakthrough Greater Boston

• Biobuilder

• International Institute of New England

• Bay State Community Services

• Bridges Homeward

• EDEN MA

• Grace Chapel

• The Furniture Trust

“We were able to update every teacher with a new chair without having to purchase them and we were able to put together a library space for students. The beautiful booths were used in the cafeteria and made the space more inviting - our high school students describe the space as if its a coffee shop! The furniture is great quality and saved us thousands of dollars. This donation has allowed us to give every teacher the same chair and it makes the location more uniform vs. having to purchase or look for mismatched items.”

Irma Camacho, Director of Operations, Boston Day & Evening Academy

"Because of this donation, we have been able to expand capacity of our restorative reflection room (serving upward of 130 students per day!).We have been able to provide business students with a more professional and collaborative learning space, and expand the capacity of our learning commons to host a larger number of students who wish to have a quiet place to study. Additionally, we have been able to provide office spaces for two staff who would otherwise have to share a desk in a cramped office."

Eliaquin Gonell, Manager, Lawrence Public Schools

“As a small nonprofit that can’t afford new office furniture and equipment, using donated furniture from the Furniture Trust helped our office space come to life. We get compliments all the time about the furniture and it was all low-cost. We worked with the Furniture Trust, which availed pieces of furniture suited to their needs - chairs, tables, desks, book cases, cabinets, and other furniture were able to be chosen that matched KIT needs and preferences. We can focus all financial resources towards programming as a result. We have gone from 100 to about 150 kids served this year already. Ultimately, this donation has helped us save over $40,000 and impacted over 100 kids and 11 staff. Thank you for the opportunity to partner and help us furnish our new office space for a growing organization.”

Olu Ibrahim, Founder & CEO, Kids in Tech