It has been another busy year so far for The Furniture Project Nottinghamshire, as the team continues to grow and help more people with subsidised furniture and household items living in Nottinghamshire, Nottingham City and some parts of Lincolnshire. They also collect donated items for free from all the villages and towns within these areas and stop them going into landfill by offering them a new home with someone else.
The Project has a shop in Ollerton and a warehouse on Boughton Industrial Estate, where they sell excess stock (after fulfilling referrals from those in need) at affordable prices when money is much tighter for all. People often ask why the project charges the prices it does when they get the items donated. Well, for all of you wondering, any money raised through the sale of excess stock all gets put back into the running of the project and paying for all its overheads such as staff and volunteer costs, fuel and maintenance of vehicles, rent, utilities, insurances and providing a subsidised service to those most in need in our communities. So, whether you donate to the project or buy items from them you are all helping to keep the project going so they can offer the services they do! Did you know if you are a tax payer and Gift Aid your donation the project can claim an extra 25% on any funds raised at no cost to you! So, remember to ask the drivers about it when they come to collect your donation.
For the year April 2017 to March 2018, using the Reuse Network calculator to log the collections of furniture made for this period, The Furniture Project made the following impact: helping 11,778 households, saving them £1,708,730 and reducing CO2 emissions by 580,872kg.
In May the Project attended The Reuse Network Annual Conference where they had the opportunity to meet like minded projects, share ideas and discuss best practice. This year they were proud to be nominated for ‘Furniture Reuse Organisation of the Year’ and one of their volunteers was shortlisted for ‘Volunteer of the Year’. Although they didn’t win, it was an honour to get shortlisted and be recognised for the work staff and volunteers do within Nottinghamshire.
Now, The Furniture Project is trying to raise funds to help buy a new vehicle to help them to replace some of their aging fleet. So far, they have been able to secure £1,000 from Tesco Bags of Help and £1,000 from The Nottinghamshire Enviro Grant: Reduce, Reuse, Recycling Fund. A huge thank you to them for supporting the project. However, they need to raise some more funds to help them reach their target so if you are able to support the project in this venture please do get in touch as all funding/donations will be gratefully received.
The Furniture Project now has a Facebook and Twitter page. You can like and follow them — Twitter @furniturenotts and Facebook www.facebook.com/thefurnitureprojectnottinghamshire.
To arrange a free collection, make a donation or enquire about the referral service to help families and individuals in need call 01623 836410.