Thriving Shrewsbury furniture scheme celebrate 30 years
A county-wide furniture scheme which is surviving in an era that has seen closures of similar operations, will shortly be celebrating its 30th anniversary.
August 14 will be a special day in the history of the Shrewsbury Furniture Scheme which has supported more than 40,000 means tested residents since it was set up in 1994. On the day the charity will be holding a gathering to thank all those who have contributed to its success over the last 30 years.
During that time similar second-hand furniture schemes which were set up in other parts of the county have all closed their doors, meaning that Shrewsbury Furniture Scheme is now the only one of its kind in the county and beyond.
The scheme’s warehouse at Hartley Business Centre serves the whole of Shropshire on a regular daily basis. The wide selection of household goods ranges from teaspoons to fridge freezers, and from armchairs to tables at the cheapest possible prices.
The success of the scheme is due in no small part to the work of volunteers who currently number five at the Monkmoor Road warehouse. In addition, the scheme operates a three-bay window shop on Castle Street, where there are five volunteers under shop manager Jayney Lawley.
By coincidence, the shop is also marking an anniversary – its 10th - which is also the length of time that Jayney has been with the scheme. She joined as assistant manager working three days a week and was soon afterwards appointed full time manager.
She said both the shop and warehouse relied on volunteers who were working on the floor in the shop cleaning and arranging furniture and bric-a-brac and collecting/delivering items as well as arranging items and loading vans at the warehouse.
“We couldn’t run in a million years without these volunteers and would like to forge relationships with people who help other people in the community – to be in touch with other associations.”, said Jayney.
For further details about the scheme, Jayney can be contacted on 01743 236382 or by email at sfsshopshrewsbury@gmail.com.
By Peter Love - Contributor
