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IKEA donates beds to refugees resettling in Jacksonville

STORY: Suspicious package at Jacksonville IKEA was bag of cookware

Sleeping in a bed at night: It’s something many of us take for granted.

But when you’re a refugee starting over with nothing, it’s not a guarantee.

A recent donation of nearly 100 beds, pillows and bedding from IKEA will change that.

World Relief Jacksonville will place the beds in new refugees' homes when they resettle in Northeast Florida.

For families escaping persecution, it’s one less thing to worry about.

World Relief Jacksonville Director Jose Vega said the donated beds allow the organization to stretch its federal funding further.

“So we can save some money to the refugees and we can spend it on other things, more important at this point, like one more month of rent for them,” said Vega.

Vega said World Relief Jacksonville resettled 233 refugees in our area last year.

So far this year, World Relief Jacksonville has resettled 59 refugees.

“At this point right now, the numbers have been very low because of the political situation,” said Vega.

Vega said World Relief Jacksonville is resettling five refugees in our community this month and three more in June.

If you’d like to help furnish homes for refugees coming to our area, World Relief Jacksonville has step-by-step instructions on creating a “welcome kit.”

You can purchase items for a welcome kit here or learn  how to create your own here.