Who We Are

We believe there’s plenty to go around;

it’s just not in the right place.

By building a more efficient system of sharing, we’re:

For many Chicagoans, the problem isn’t having too little; it’s having too much. But clearing out the surplus is overwhelming and time-consuming. We provide a simple solution to Chicagoans that want to be thoughtful in redistributing their items; a single drop-off location for 100+ items that have a reuse purpose in the city.
The majority of items we receive and distribute are items needed by Chicago’s underserved communities. By providing non-profit & mutual aid organizations with easy access to free resources, we increase access of essential items to communities in need all around the city.
In several cases, partnering with The Parlor has allowed organizations to provide entirely new services to their communities.
Non-profit, mutual aid & community organizing work isn’t easy. Volunteer exhaustion is frequent, and, particularly in mutual aid work, team burn out can jeopardize entire programs.
Our services allow our partners & their teams to focus on what they do best: serving their community. We do all the back of house labor that takes time, energy & physical space away from the people on the frontlines.
Partners specify the items, quantities & timings that work for them - no wasted time sorting through items that their community doesn’t need, or receiving items when they are already overflowing.
When items are donated at a place they aren’t needed, they’re more likely to be discarded than they are to help someone.
Our approach to redistribution means items end up where they’ve specifically been requested, so we can feel confident they’ll get reused.
Since 2023, we’ve diverted hundreds of thousands of items from landfill. Instead, we got them right where they were needed.