Scarborough charity says no to Black Friday

Although the charity helps people on low incomes by providing affordable items to properly furnish their homes, it also recycles furniture and helps local people’s wellbeing and employment prospects.

The charity uses the money raised from the sale of a wide range of household items to help finance skills training and wellbeing/confidence, building practical work experience for locals who have had setbacks in life, such as long-term illness or unemployment facing employment exclusion.

The charity works closely with caring organisations to make sure that people needing training and wellbeing service receive it.

Some hobbyists who are into improving old furniture themselves often shop at the store on Salisbury Street (off Seamer Road) so they can do up a piece themselves and extend the life of a piece of furniture that may have gone to landfill. People on means tested benefits are eligible for 30% discount on the already low prices.

The store operation is managed by David, who said: “Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am passionate about what our team does.

"We stop items being dumped, we help people to have decent furniture in their homes and help people to learn skills and gain confidence in the small workshop area where we create new pieces as well as restore tired items”.

The warehouse has an extensive display of good quality and affordable furniture, white goods and even small items such as table lamps.

“The van team collect donated items from all over the area, and can go as far as Whitby in the north, Bridlington in the south and inland as far as Malton.

"The warehouse is brimming with household items of all sorts." he added.

Graham Mitchell, a trustee, said: “If having bargains galore on the doorstep isn’t enough to prove our uniqueness all the money raised from sales isn’t sent off to some distant part of the country and never seen again, it is all used to help local people.”

David adds: “How people feel about themselves is at the heart of what we do with the training and volunteering.

"It isn’t all limited to a mind-set of getting people back into work, we also have attendees with special needs and with disabilities for whom the scheme is a sort of therapy.

"The thank you letters we get from people who have been on a placement really give us a buzz”.

In protest to Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day – started in 1992 by a Canadian artist named Ted Dave – was moved to the same day as Black Friday to raise awareness of consumerism.