YORK Community Furniture Store can continue supporting York residents throughout the COVID-19 crisis after being awarded £10,000 in National Lottery funding to supply vulnerable people in York with essential household goods.

At the same time, the charity, based on James Street in York, and which also operates in Selby and Ryedale, is also putting out an urgent appeal for certain items.

They will use the cash to continue its vital service which provides vulnerable people with essential household goods such as washing machines, ovens, and urgently needed furniture during the crisis.

The store is in urgent need of:

  •  Double/single bed bases and mattresses (mattresses must be unmarked and have a fire safety label)

 

  •  Clothes storage: wardrobes and chests of drawers in good condition

 

  •  Donations can be collected from your home, free of charge and they ask that goods are left outside (weather permitting) to allow drivers to keep a safe social distance.

Andy Waites from the store said: “As people are finding themselves unable to leave the house whilst caring for others, self-isolating and for those in the community who were already physically or financially vulnerable, our work supplying and delivering household goods has become more important than ever.

"Many people will know that York Community Furniture Store sells reused and upcycled furniture to the wider community as well as offering discounts to those on low incomes, but another vital part of the charity is working closely with City of York Council and other charities on a referral basis to deliver goods to those in need.

"We’re delighted to have received this funding from the National Lottery so that we can continue to run the service while our store, which usually offsets some of those costs, is closed to the public.”

The store has been operating in York since 1988 and is one of three related charities in North Yorkshire that help people in their local community by supplying new electrical goods, putting unwanted donated furniture back into circulation, reducing waste through reuse and upcycling, and providing employment and skills experience to people facing long term unemployment or barriers to work. Last year the three stores reused over 17,000 items of furniture, electrical appliances, and other household items preventing an estimated 390 tonnes of unnecessary waste, and helping over 12,500 households to make better homes.