The Selby furniture store helping local people – and the planet!
The Selby Community Furniture Store marks its 10th anniversary.
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2017 marks a milestone for what is arguably Selby's ultimate green business, and one that continues to go from strength to strength.
The Selby Community Furniture Store, just off Bawtry Road has been operating for a decade now, recycling and repairing unwanted furniture that would otherwise be destined for landfill, and selling it on to provide affordable furnishings for local people on low incomes.
The not-for-profit organisation, which has additional branches in York and Scarborough, also provides job opportunities for people with disabilities as well as for others who need experience and training to help them take a step up the job ladder.
Shane Cooke, known to everyone as Cookie (main photo) leads the workshops at the Selby Community Furniture Store, and he's a man with a huge passion for what he does.
Our mission is to stop as much furniture going to landfill as we can achieve; to sell furniture to people who don't have a lot of money, as cheaply as possible, and to help as many people turn their lives around and get back to where they need to be... and it's the best job in the world!
Some of the stock arrives in great condition and can go on sale almost straight away, but much of it needs some attention from the team in the workshop first. Sometimes this is a just case of adding a lick of paint or replacing a broken hinge.
But often Cookie and the team use their creativity and ingenuity to reinvent the items they receive into something entirely different. For example, much of their outdoor furniture items had previous lives as bed frames, garden decking, or timber off-cuts donated by their neighbours at Jewson. You might also find a side-table which was once a hat-stand, or a bird table which was previously a dining chair.
Cookie is proud of his hard-working team and of being able to give opportunities to people who otherwise struggle to find employment.
What our team get out of it is a boost in confidence, which a lot are lacking when they first come here. We're also able to bring in external training organisations to give them essential skills. It's so great to see the change in them from when they first come to how they are now where they're very confident and can show other people how to do things they previously couldn't do themselves.
He's keen to spread the word further about what they do, and asks everyone to think twice before taking something to the tip – instead, consider donating it to them first.
Don't just throw stuff away without checking with us first! That item of furniture that you don't want anymore could go to help people who haven't got anything. That's what we're all about.
Grenfell Tower Fundraising Event - Saturday 29th July
The store recently donated furniture, blankets and bedding to those made homeless following the Grenfell Tower fire in London and will be holding a special fundraising event and open day on Saturday 29th July to raise money for those affected. There will be plenty of family attractions, but the organisation is appealing for help from anyone who would like to run a craft stall to get in touch and help make the event a success.
