A non-profit business called Material Assistance Providers, Inc. has discovered a need in the Columbus community to provide gently-used furniture and appliances to needy families.MAP is one of 27 agencies in the country that collects gently used furniture and household goods from private individuals, businesses, schools, universities, hospitals, hotels and other organizations in the community and turns them over to people who are unable to afford to furnish their apartments or houses.Jeff Hay, director and founder of MAP, said he was working at a homeless shelter over three years ago, and people were always in need of assitance in furnishing their homes.”There’s so many people that don’t have anything in Columbus,” he said. “The government often helps people get an apartment and don’t give them anything else, so they end up sleeping on the floor and putting their food in coolers.”Hay said he decided to leave the homeless shelter and start MAP when he provided a bed for a 7-year-old boy who was about to be turned over to Children’s Services.”The boy was able to stay with his family because he got the bed,” Hay said. “He ran up to me and gave me a hug, and then gave me a bracelet he made that says ‘Jesus loves me’ on it.”Even today, Hay proudly wears the bracelet the 7 year-old-boy gave him.”Knowing that all this stuff (used furniture and appliances) was out there, I just decided to do it,” Hay said. Hay was provided space in a building owned by Culligan on Fisher Road in Nov. 1998, and since then has has helped thousands of low-income families and individuals furnish their apartments and homes. Hay said in the past year 20,000 people in the Columbus area made use of the free furniture and appliances that MAP receives and gives away. An average of 30 families are helped, and 60 to 80 donations are collected each week, Hay said.”We do not advertise, so everything has been through word of mouth,” he said.MAP also does not receive funding from the government and Hay said he does not want government assistance.”We do not want Big Brother taking care of us, this is about us taking care of our brother,” he said. David Houston, a referal to MAP, said the organization has been beneficial.”I didn’t have nothing before, and now I have a bed to lay on,” Houston said. Donations from Eddie Bauer, the Limited and Bath and Body Works have also been received at MAP. In the past month, Hay said eight semi’s full of Bath and Body Works products that were originally intended to be thrown away were delivered to MAP. He also said 16,000 pieces of never-before-worn clothing were donated by the Limited.”You wouldn’t believe the supplies we go through in a single week here,” Hay said.The clothes and products from these businesses have been sent by Hay, in cooperation with local churches, as far as Yugoslavia, Kosovo and Bella Russia. Hay also sent clothing and products from the Limited, Eddie Bower, and Bath and Body Works to an orphanage in Venezuala through the help of a foreign extension program at Ohio State.In order to recieve furniture, appliances, or the clothing and goods that have been donated to MAP, an individual must be recomended by a church, or social service agency. Hay said a recomendation is required by an agency to make sure that the individual is really in need of the donated goods, and not planning on selling them for money.”We want to know that the person really is poor and in need,” Hay said.MAP collects $50 from the churches and social organizations when the furniture and appliances are given to needy individuals. Hay said all of the money collected goes to paying his small staff of workers, renting moving trucks and paying the utilities for the warehouse he stores the donated goods in.”It takes $8,000 a month to keep this up,” he said.Working 60 to 80 hours a week, Hay said he has not seen a paycheck in three years, and said his wife works to help support his dream.Hay’s future goal is to get OSU to provide a warehouse on campus where students can drop off their gently-used furniture and appliances. He also hopes to get the greek community involved by volunteering hours to MAP for help picking up and moving the donated goods.Hay said he is always looking for volunteers and donations, and can be reached at (614) 276-5048. One can also go to www.map-inc.net to get further information about MAP.”We’re Columbus’s best kept secret, but we’re trying to become Columbus’s best charity,” Hay said.