Community Outreach Van Makes Surprise Visit To Bronx School

(Freeport, Long Island) -- Today, Bob's Discount Furniture, the fastest growing furniture retailer in the northeast, with stores in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, announced it recently presented a donation of two laptop computers and $500 to the Anna Mersereau Intermediate School for student research and project programs. The new Bob's Discount Furniture Community Outreach Van surprised the Bronx, NY school and several other locations in the region with donations.

"After recently kicking-off our Community Outreach Van Program where we actually surprise needy organizations with donated items, I thought helping students by providing new technology and new computers was one of the most effective ways to promote a better education," explained Cathy Poulin, TV personality, Bob's Discount Furniture. "So we responded to a request we received months ago by one of the teachers at the school."

The Anna Cross Mersereau Intermediate School MS206 is located at 2280 Aqueduct Avenue, Bronx, NY and is headed by the school's Principal David Neering. "From the daily writing and research projects to learning how to utilize relevant software, our students were very happy about the new additions to our classrooms. Bob's Discount Furniture's Community Outreach Van program has created some very valuable and new opportunities for our students," said Neering.


Pictured above (left to right) presenting a $500 check is William Newton, Bob's Discount Furniture; Anna Cross Mersereau Intermediate School Principal David Neering; & Cathy Poulin, Bob's Discount Furniture. (Click on the picture to view a larger, photo quality version for publication purposes).

"We developed the idea about a community outreach van after realizing that it could help coordinate our charitable foundation's efforts even more effectively. Our outreach van has enabled us to work with even more nonprofit groups on a more frequent basis. From child and senior citizen support programs to wheelchair and educational supply campaigns, the Bob's Discount Furniture Community Outreach Van is now 'on the road' in the tri-state region performing random acts of kindness and making our community a better place one stop at a time," said Bob Kaufman, president, Bob's Discount Furniture.

Organizations that are interested in being selected for a "random act of kindness" should email a request to outreachvan@mybobs.com. One organization is selected randomly each month.

About Bob's Discount Furniture
The fast-growing furniture retailer with 29 stores located throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, Bob's Discount Furniture has built strong brand awareness and customer loyalty through its unique shopping environment, customer service commitment and everyday low prices. First-time visitors are pleasantly surprised by the comfortable atmosphere and vast selection of quality furniture that surpasses their "discount" expectations. As a part of the overall shopping experience, many of the locations have complimentary cafés featuring gourmet coffee, fresh baked cookies and candy, while other locations offer home theater and video arcade entertainment. Known for their unique style of television and radio advertising, Bob Kaufman, president, and Cathy Poulin, public relations director, have been inviting customers for over a decade to visit their nearest Bob's Discount Furniture store. For more information, visit www.mybobs.com.

About Bob's Discount Furniture Charitable Foundation
Through the Bob's Discount Furniture Charitable Foundation and its many charitable contributions and sponsorships, Bob, Cathy and all of Bob's Discount Furniture employees support hundreds of nonprofit organizations. Among the many supported charities are Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters, American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, Salvation Army Marshall House Youth and Family Emergency Shelter, National Conference for Community Justice, American Red Cross, Connecticut Children's Medical Center and many more. In March 2006, Poulin participated in the "Dance for a Cause" competition in Hartford to raise money and awareness for the National Pajama Program and Lil' Iguana's Children's Safety Foundation. Poulin was also awarded Woman of the Year for 2006 by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In April 2008, Kaufman was presented with the prestigious 2008 Biomedical Achievement Award from the American Red Cross as the "Bob Squad" grew to over 20,000 members. For more information about the foundation and Bob's Discount Furniture, visit www.mybobs.com/charity.