Hal Lynde, Board Chairman of Houston Furniture Bank and Financial Advisor at Raymond James Financial in Houston, has been announced as one of three national finalists for the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the 14th Annual Invest in Others Awards. Lynde is being honored for his work with Houston Furniture Bank, which will receive a $10,000 donation from the Invest in Others Charitable Foundation. If Lynde wins his category, the donation will increase to $50,000.
The Invest in Others Awards program recognizes the charitable work of financial advisors in communities across the country and around the world. Advisors are nominated for actively giving back to nonprofits to improve their communities and make a difference in the lives of others. Finalists are selected based on their leadership, dedication, contribution, inspiration, and impact on a nonprofit and the community it serves. There are five categories of awards: Catalyst, Community Service, Global Impact, Volunteer of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement.
Houston Furniture Bank’s mission is to furnish hope by providing families with residential furniture and furnishings to improve sleep, mealtime, and home comforts to promote a happy and healthy lifestyle. We have served the Houston community since 1992, Making Empty Houses Homes. While many area nonprofits and state agencies work to ensure housing needs are met for community members, the Houston Furniture Bank focuses on furnishing homes – ensuring families have dinner tables to share a meal around and children have beds to sleep in each night. In our long history, Houston Furniture Bank has served over 100,000 individuals and 36,000 families.
Hal Lynde has worked with Houston Furniture Bank since its inception in 1992. He joined the Board of Directors in 2004 and has served as Chairman since 2006. Throughout his years of service, he has provided steady, unwavering leadership through a host of uncertainties: the 2008 financial depression, a fire that destroyed the facility in 2015, the destruction and aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and, most recently, the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Through all of these challenges, Houston Furniture Bank has continued its steady growth, much of which can be contributed to Lynde’s vision to create a sustainable nonprofit. Under his leadership, the organization launched multiple “social businesses” including the Mattress Recycling Center, Mattress Builders, and the Furniture Outlet. Thanks to Lynde’s forward thinking, the organization generates funding for more than 50% of its $2.4 million annual budget – a remarkable operational accomplishment amongst nonprofit organizations. In 2019, Lynde oversaw the launch of Houston Furniture Bank’s ‘No Kids on the Floor’ initiative. A resounding success, the program has provided mattresses to over 1,000 children in its first year.
The Invest in Others Awards will be presented digitally this year over the course of five days, from Monday, September 21 to Friday, September 25. The video awards presentation for the Lifetime Achievement Award will be unveiled Friday, September 25 at 4:45pm ET on investinothers.org. The inspiration for the Invest in Others Charitable Foundation came directly from the financial advisors who invest in others by giving back to their communities with overwhelming generosity and dedication. Since its founding in 2006, Invest in Others has amplified these efforts by providing a platform for advisors to increase awareness, visibility, and funding to their favorite nonprofits.