Harvey victims receive brand new furniture donation

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Twenty families whose homes were devastated by Hurricane Harvey can now start to get their lives back together, thanks to a generous furniture donation from a local company.    

In honor of Exclusive Furniture's 20th anniversary, over the next 20 days, 20 families will receive up to 20 rooms full of brand new furniture.

The company partnered with nonprofit organization Rebuilding Together Houston to locate these families in need. 

"We help senior citizens, we help US veterans, and we help people with disabilities by performing home repair at no cost to them," said CEO & Executive Director Christine Holland.

Brenda Martinez and her father, Jose, are one of those 20 families on the receiving end. The family's home was flooded with nearly two feet of water during Hurricane Harvey. Ten months later, they're still struggling to get back on their feet. 

"He said he's very grateful. We're all grateful for everything they have done for us," Martinez said.

Sam Zavary is the owner of Exclusive Furniture. He said furniture donations are just one way of how the local company hopes to give back to the community.

"I started with nothing almost. One thing my father always told me is stay humble and remember where you came from. These are my people. These are my customers. These are the people who support us. Without Houston and without the people in Houston, we would be nowhere," Zavary said.

With this donation, families like the Martinez's can now start rebuilding their homes with the basics and have a proper bed to sleep in.

"We're going to set the bedroom up so he can sleep good from now on," Martinez said.

Rebuilding Together Houston said they plan on rebuilding up to 150 Harvey-damaged homes this year, and up to 250 homes in 2019.