Post Author
Emily Blevins
Communications Director
A few weeks ago, our team had the opportunity to meet Rae Marie Czuhai, CEO of The Green Chair Project (TGCP), to learn more about the impact the nonprofit is having in the lives of North Carolina’s children and families. We featured them in our biweekly digest, and I wanted to share the story here as well.
The Green Chair Project gives furniture a second life and gives families in Wake County and beyond a fresh start. They work with community partners and local donations to provide families with the furnishings, cookware, and linens they need to be comfortable and secure in their homes. TGCP also has a special focus on providing cribs and beds for children.
“It doesn’t occur to most people that there are children growing up without a bed of their own,” says Rae Marie. “When I share that there are between 5,000-6,000 children in Wake County alone who are sleeping on floors, couches, or sharing overcrowded beds, people are often shocked. You can see in their eyes that it’s something they’ve never had to think about, and the reality overwhelms them.”
For children, having a bed of their own helps improve sleep quality and better reach developmental milestones, all while building a sense of autonomy and independence. “A bed isn’t just a piece of furniture—it’s a foundation for rest, health, and learning,” says Rae Marie. “And home furnishings aren’t luxuries. They’re essential to a family’s stability and dignity.”
I don’t know how common this knowledge is, but the “furniture capital of the world” is right here in North Carolina, in High Point—and, according to EDPNC, our concentration of furniture manufacturing activity is nearly 4 times the national average.
If we want to make North Carolina first in children, we need to make sure that every child in the state that furnishes the world has a bed of their own.
The good news: TGCP is already working on it—and they’re not doing it alone. They’ve created innovative partnerships with other similar nonprofits across North Carolina, teaching them about the model and even finding ways to uplift the work of other child- and family-serving organizations in the process.
“Everyone deserves dignity, comfort, and a place to call home,” says Rae Marie. “The ‘project’ in The Green Chair Project is all of us, together.”
If you’re interested in learning more about TGCP or making a furniture or financial donation, visit their website. If you want to partner with TGCP, reach out to Rae Marie at raemarie@thegreenchair.org.