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Recycle your sofa at SOFA
Posted on 24/09/2007
Loughborough Newsdesk
Today (Monday 24th September 2007), the Mayor and Mayoress, Councilor Joe Tormey and Councilor Debbie Green respectively visited SOFA at the Towles Building on the corner of Clarence Street and Nottingham Road.
SOFA is a charity in Loughborough that started up here in June 2005 with the aim to assist the community of Loughborough and the immediate areas by collecting surplus furniture for redistribution to people on income related benefits. They also aim to involve volunteers in the work giving the chance for people to improve their work skills and demonstrate to prospective employers their willingness to work thereby increasing their employability. Currently the project has 4 staff and 13 volunteers.
SOFA works alongside other charities in the area and the likes of social services so that people who are in need can benefit from the furniture which is sold to them at a token price. However with the increase in the amount of people willing to recycle old furniture SOFA had been overwhelmed with offers of furniture. To solve this they took the innovative step of making some furniture available to the general public (but not at the token price). The money raised from the sale of this is used to cover the administrative costs of the project e.g. transportation which benefits everyone.
Last month the Loughborough branch of SOFA helped 52 people with 256 items of furniture. Annually they anticipate that they save about 72 Tonnes of waste from going onto landfill sites by recycling items of furniture.
If you have any furniture that you are getting rid of and is in reasonable condition SOFA would like to hear from you. It could be beds, wardrobes, sofas, dining room tables and chairs, the list is endless. They are also especially interested if you have electrical items in good condition such as washing machines, fridges, freezers etc. These items are rarely donated and are one of the main thing people need if on low income.
You can visit SOFAs premises on Nottingham Road or call them on 01509 262557. After Christmas they also intend to be open on a Saturday morning, allowing greater flexibility for people to have a look at the furniture that is available.
First Picture: Mayor and Mayoress of Charnwood, Joe Tormey and Mayoress of Charnwood Debbie Green. Second Picture: Mayor and Mayoress of Charnwood, Joe Tormey and Mayoress of Charnwood Debbie Green with Rosemary Blake and Brian Granger of SOFA.