Golfer Fred Couples lending name, support to new furniture line
Initiative will benefit Wounded Warrior Project
Jay McIntosh -- Furniture Today, September 3, 2009
 Pro golfer Fred Couples, center, is working with Laura Coley, left, and Shari Duval to develop a home furnishings line that will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. |
HIGH POINT — Popular pro golfer Fred Couples will lend his name and support to a planned furniture line that will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity that helps military men and women injured in the line of duty.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Wounded Warrior Project will return to the High Point Market in October seeking donations of home furnishings they can sell to raise funds for the charity. And this time, they'll also be able to buy some excess inventory for resale.
Working on both initiatives is Shari Duval, who runs a Jacksonville, Fla., charitable organization called Good Riddance, which has been selling donated home furnishings and contributing the proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project. Good Riddance doesn't operate a store but has occasional sales from a storage facility in Jacksonville.
She knows Couples because her husband, Bob Duval, is a former pro golfer and their son, David Duval, is currently on the PGA Tour.
Shari Duval is developing the Couples line with furniture designer Laura Orsborn Coley. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the product will go to the Wounded Warrior Project.
In an interview, Duval said the new line will be a whole home collection that will start with an upholstery launch at the April High Point Market. Case goods and decorative accessories are expected to be added later. She and Coley are talking to manufacturers, but were not ready to announce any yet.
At this October's High Point Market, meanwhile, Duval will be in town seeking donations of home furnishings, including showroom samples. Donors can take tax deductions.
She said she'll also now have some funds to buy the excess inventory of manufacturers and importers, although she'll be looking for bargains. Manufacturers interested in donating or selling can contact her at (904) 612-2654 or at shari@sharisgoodriddance.net.
Among the companies that offered support at the April market were Lee Inds., Davis International and Currey & Co., Duval said.
She added that the Wounded Warrior Project is working to meet the needs of some of the tens of thousands of American service personnel who have been wounded in conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. She and Bob have a son who spent a year in Iraq, so they have a personal connection to the cause.
Shari said she has met beneficiaries of the Wounded Warrior Project, who may need help with anything from health and emotional issues to finding a livelihood since they usually can no longer pursue military careers. She said she is often impressed with their attitudes.
"You talk to someone and ask him where he lost his leg," she said. "He'll say, ‘Respectfully, ma'am, I didn't lose my leg. I know exactly where it is. I gave my leg to protect our freedoms.'"
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