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Wednesday, October 01, 2008, 08:00
All too often, simply making ends meet can be difficult. When you struggle to scrape together enough money to make a family meal or buy the baby's nappies, the idea of finding the money for new household equipment must seem almost impossible.
But one Wiltshire charity is transforming the lives of the most disadvantaged members of the community – while also helping the environment and boosting job training opportunities.
"Refurbiz is one of those projects that seems to help lots of different people on different levels," says chairman Jon Riding. "People often ask about what we do, and it's difficult to encapsulate everything.
"But giving people the opportunity to buy all their household white goods at an affordable price, really is the most important service we provide. It's difficult for most of us to imagine just how much of a struggle it is to buy a cooker, fridge, washing machine and tumble dryer when you don't have a regular income.
"But they are now seen as basic core items in a home. So much so, that they're on the list of things that Social Services will check for in a house when considering whether children should be kept in the care of their parents.
"That's why, in the most extreme cases, our service has actually allowed single mothers to keep their children. There are 26,000 low income families in our county, all of whom are struggling to make ends meet. That's where we can help.
"There are quite a few charities in the region providing second-hand furniture to disadvan- taged families, but refurbishing white goods is a much more specialised role."
Refurbiz was set up five years ago, when a number of Wiltshire's furniture donation charities realised they couldn't offer the technical expertise to renovate old and unwanted white goods. It was one of the first organisations of its kind in the country.
"The answer was to set up a whole new charity," Jon explains. "That's how we were born, thanks to funding from the Big Lottery Fund and CRED – the Community Recycling and Economic Development programme, which was a pot of Government money that was set aside to help green community projects."
The charity's base is a unit on the Hopton Park Industrial Estate on the outskirts of Devizes. Manager Doug Western, leads the way through the reception desk into the main workshop, where workers and volunteers are busily taking washing machines apart.
"The idea is simple enough," he says. "People donate their old pieces of equipment to us, we refurbish them or fix them if they're broken, and make them as good as new.
"Then we sell them at subsidised prices to people on benefits. Our biggest problem is getting hold of the items in the first place."
More than half of the units the charity gets currently comes from Home Recycling Centres – or tips, as they were once known.
"We aim to get around 175 units in each month - to either refurbish or strip down for parts," he says. "But last month we only received 90 items. It's a direct result of the credit crunch hitting more affluent families too – people aren't going out and buying new white goods, so they don't have old ones to donate.
"If people could bring in their old items, or arrange for one of our four vans to pick them up, it would give us a tremendous boost."
But Doug explains the charity's work has developed rapidly in the past five years.
"We've gone from selling 200 units a year at first, to 2,000 units a year," he says.
"When we first took over this building, we couldn't imagine ever making use of all the space, but now we have so much going on, we've pretty much filled it." Engineer Ray Tuck is working on an old washing machine as we pass through the workshop.
"The problems are often only minor," he explains. "But they would cost so much to get them fixed, that people think they might as well just replace the unit with a new model.
"It is a tremendous waste though, because with a bit of care and attention, they can be brought back to looking almost new.
"We start off by cleaning them thoroughly – so they look as immaculate as they did on the day they were first purchased.
"Then we take them apart to fix any mechanical problems.
"Over the years we've built up a tremendous supply of spare parts – so we are able to fix most units and get them working again."
The results are plain to see in the Refurbiz "showroom" next door.
Row after row of shiny white goods – washing machines, fridges, tumble dryers and cookers - are all lined up, looking as good as they day they were made.
The price tags reveal just how much of a difference the project can make to peoples' household budgets – with some washing machines, for example, priced at around £40-£60.
"It can make all the difference to a family on benefits," says Doug. "But from an environmental perspective, it also means that these units are being recycled in the best possible way.
"And on top of all that, the charity benefits the community by giving people jobs and the opportunities for training, as well as helping the Probation Service by allowing people to work here to serve their community service.
"It's very rewarding to work for a charity that's helping so many people on so many different levels."
■ For more information about Refurbiz, visit the website at www.refurbiz.org or call 01380 720200.
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