I volunteer with a Furniture Recyling organisation
I originally came to Castle Furniture as part of New Deal (a government work training initiative) for 13 weeks. I really enjoyed it, everyone gets on so well with each other, we’re like one big happy family, so when that ended I signed up to be a volunteer.
I normally do the driving, making up loads and assessing furniture. The furniture and electrical items come from private homes mostly. We arrange to clean it and test all the electrical equipment. Only about 1% goes to scrap and the quality is a lot better than you often find in charity shops.
I love being a volunteer here, it gives me something to get up for in morning, there’s a real sense of camaraderie amongst the volunteers and staff and I get to be out and about meeting people. There are a lot of people out there waiting to get rid of stuff and it’s good to be involved in something that helps save money as well keeping it out of landfill. We get feedback from customers who tell us the stuff is ‘fantastic’.
I have nothing but praise for the way Castle Furniture treats its volunteers. I always get some kind of recognition and am thanked and appreciated for my contribution. They offer me new things to do and shortly I am taking some training to become a Buddy for someone with mental health problems.
