In the last 12 months TRUP has provided 3642 hours of volunteering and 346 placement days for people with a learning difficulty.
We have helped 636 families helped to obtain furniture, given away £9840 in discounts to people on low income, provided 575 litres of paint to community groups and people on low incomes, prevented 92 tonnes of re-useable items from going to landfill by collecting from 717 of Thurrock’s residents, and contributed to Thurrock’s environmental carbon footprint by saving the equivalent of 248 tonnes of CO2.
Looking Back - How we got here
Originally Thurrock Council ran a “Welfare Store” in garages below the flats at Seabrook Rise in Grays, to provide second hand furniture for benefit claimants and social service clients. The service according to anecdotal evidence suggests that the range of products was poor and consisted of old broken items found either at the bin cupboards or furniture left when tenants moved out. The operation became an issue for the local authority and at the end of 1999 Thurrock CVS Volunteer Bureau was asked to consider taking over the running of this service. This fitted in with the Volunteers in Action (VIA) scheme and neighbourhood renewal as well as providing another opportunity to involve volunteers and directly help communities to help each other by donating furniture and promoting recycling
“Seconds Out” was launched as part of VIA in June 2000 and funded to operate one day a week and with the VIA co-ordinator and a small team of volunteers. Demand for the scheme outweighed capacity and storage space and it was dependent on use of the VIA van. By March 2003 funding had been secured to purchase a dedicated van with tail lift and the scheme was operating with a full time co-ordinator (employed in October 2003) and a part time admin assistant. In 2004-5 problems in obtaining additional funding meant that hours of operation were reduced.
In 2005 a partnership bid by two of Thurrock’s leading charities Thurrock Play Network (TPN) and CVS to the National Lottery’s Community Recycling and Economic Development (CRED) Fund to develop a sustainable Re-Use project for Thurrock was made. With projected sales income, donations and volunteer time, a three year SLA from Thurrock Council, rental subsidies, fuel provision from Cleanaway, and sizeable capital funding from Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation, enough match funding was found to secure the CRED grant from December 2005 until November 2007.
In December 2005 existing staff from Seconds Out and Aveley Scrap Store were brought together to form a new team and Second Generation Re-Use Project was born. In February 2006 David Lawrence was appointed as Project Manager and the team became complete. David came to the project with 25 years Food Retailing experience mostly with Tesco and a passion for local communities, with his involvement with Community Forums in Thurrock.
Between December 2005 and November 2007 the Partnership using their existing expertise in different areas separated the streams, with CVS taking the lead for household items and TPN commercial items that could be used for play and craft activities. Supported by steering group both partners nurtured the project towards the planned independence, at the end of the funding period.
Towards the end of the CRED funding it was felt that the commercial waste stream operated through the scrap store better fitted with the aims of the Pyramid Centre which was managed by TPN so control was transferred back to this partner.
Early in 2007 members of the steering group were recruited to become board members of a new charity to carry on the successful work already begun and in November 2007 TRUP was formed and formally took over the Second Generation Furniture Warehouse.
