Introducing Swindon Restore

If you read one of my previous blogs about the Swindon Foodbank Masquerade Ball – which, of course you did! – you’ll know that Swindon Foodbank is a charity very close to my heart.

Now I want to let you know about an exciting new project that the charity is setting up which will provide a source of hope and self-esteem to individuals, enrich the community, provide a great way of recycling and – in the long-term – offer an income stream to the Foodbank.

The new project is called Swindon Restore and it’s based in the hall at St John’s Church, Cavendish Square, Swindon.

The Restore team, headed by Alex Pollock, have been lucky enough to acquire the lease on the hall, decorated it and kitting it out; there was an amazing amount of work to do before it could open for business.

So what is Swindon Restore?

The idea is this… If you have any unwanted, even broken, electrical items, jewellery or furniture, clothing, books, crockery, bric-a-brac (pretty much anything) take them along to Restore rather than scrap them. Volunteers will then repair, restore and rejuvenate the items and sell them from the Restore shop or via ebay and even Amazon. If they can’t be sold, they can be passed on for recycling. Once the project is up and running and making a profit, spare profits will go back into Swindon Foodbank.

But – and it is a BIG but – it is the volunteers that the initiative is focused on. The initiative will match less able volunteers well more able volunteers and together they will be trained to work together in a social enterprise in a relaxed coffee shop type environment without the normal pressures of the commercial world.

Swindon Restore will offer training to its volunteers in creative arts, furniture and jewellery-making, restoration and repair of white goods as well as the running of a retail shop and on-line sites like ebay. ReStore will provide somewhere to go, some people to be with, something to do, and something to learn; whether the volunteer is fully able or not volunteering will bring an added bonus…

There are even plans to start a vegetable garden, so if you’re green-fingered, please volunteer your services. Oh and remember there is a café too!

ReStore is now open for business  so if you fancy some very “cost-effective” retail therapy or if you fancy volunteering to help, please email Alex at alex@swindonrestore.co.uk