Social enterprise

A growing social enterprise which benefits everyone

In 2003, Doncaster ReFurnish were provided with a grant from key fund and business support from Business Link to help get their social enterprise off the ground. ReFurnish is committed to the principle of re-use, and collects unwanted household items which it then makes available cheaply to local households in need.

Reuse avoids landfill

ReFurnish believes in re-use, because it can consume a fraction of the energy used in the recycling process. Also, it diverts from landfill items which would otherwise become environmentally damaging waste.

"Keep going till you find the support you need."

“The grant was crucial because it was part of the first investment in us,” says Jo Ward, chief executive of ReFurnish. “My advice to other new businesses is to keep going—it took a while to get people to listen to us, and you can’t do it alone.”

Yorkshire Forward’s funding enabled ReFurnish to buy 2 collection vans, employ 6 staff and rent a town-centre building for 15 months. Five years after starting up, the not-for-profit company now employs 20 staff, runs 7 vans, and has 4 centres—supplying families in need and diverting thousands of tonnes of waste from landfill.

The success of the project

Between 2003 and 2008, Doncaster ReFurnish:

• Collected 74,000 items of furniture & electrical appliances from over 33,000 households
• Supplied these goods to over 8,000 families in need
• Saved 2,326 tonnes of household items from local landfill sites
• Provided volunteering, training and work placement opportunities for 420 people.