In-house expertise saves thousands of pounds

The Age UK Wyvern charity shop on The Homend in Ledbury has had a makeover of its storage arrangements thanks to the efforts of volunteers from the charity’s Sheds Together project.

The shop, which opened last year, needed storage units and side boards to help volunteers sort out donations at the back of the shop. Local group Sheds Together, which is supported by Age UK Wyvern, came to their rescue by offering to build the units themselves.

Steve Farrell, who runs the Ledbury shop, commented, “When you are working for a charity you don’t want to waste money, so you usually have to make do and mend. But in this case, we had absolutely first-class work done exactly to our specifications, at the cost of materials only, thanks to volunteers from the Sheds giving up their time. It’s saved us thousands of pounds”.

Staff at the shop were impressed with the quality of the work carried out. Now that benches have been built, they can sort donations at waist height, rather than having to bend down. “The quality is absolutely stupendous,” explained Steve. “The units are so solid, they’d be standing if the rest of the shop collapsed. It’s made our lives so much easier”.

The Sheds Together group operate out of a unit at Ledbury Rugby Club. Volunteers from a variety of backgrounds meet to work on DIY projects, usually to benefit local places.

Members Terry Harris and Alistair Patrick worked together to produce the storage units and work benches in the shop, following a successful similar project in the Age UK Wyvern shop in Hereford. The two men have been involved with the Sheds project since it began and enjoy putting their long experience of DIY jobs to a new use. “We use the skills we’ve already got, but we also learn from working with others. We also help newer members of the group, who may join with no knowledge of DIY at all”, explained Alistair.

Now that the Age UK Wyvern shop has improved its storage facilities, good quality donations are especially welcome. The shop is open Monday to Saturday and staff are on hand to accept clothes, books, toys and household items. Money raised from the shop goes towards Age Wyvern’s essential work supporting older people in Herefordshire and South Worcestershire.