Surrey charities benefit from popular re-use shops

The Revive shop charity scheme sees a portion of money raised from the four shops across Surrey donated to local charities chosen by customers.

For this quarter, the charities to benefit are Age UK Surrey, Your Sanctuary, Surrey Wildlife Trust and the Hunter Centre, with each charity receiving £1,709.18.

Mike Goodman, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “The Revive re-use charity scheme is a great way for local good causes to benefit from the things other people throw away. The busier the Revive re-use shops are, the more money is donated to charity. And not only that, the shops help to offset the costs of running our community recycling centres. I’m delighted that four very worthy local causes – chosen by customers – have each received more than £1,700.”

Fiamma Pather, CEO of Your Sanctuary, one of the charities to benefit, said, “We are thrilled to have received such a generous donation from the Revive re-use shops. These funds will help us to run a six-week group work programme in the community for women who have experienced domestic abuse. Women who attend tell us that they find the programme informative, supportive and many form close friendships with the other women on the group.”

The Revive reuse shops, operated by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK on behalf of Surrey County Council, reclaim unwanted but usable items taken to the county’s community recycling centres and sell them to members of the public. They are a great place to find your next upcycling project or quirky home decoration, selling everything from antique furniture, books and DVDs, to garden tools, bicycles and televisions. The shops help to reduce waste and raise revenue to support the service.

The Revive charity scheme is run on a quarterly basis and the charities to benefit are chosen by members of the public. You can nominate your favourite charity by completing a form with the charities’ details and placing it the box in your nearest Revive shop. The Revive shops are based at the Redhill, Leatherhead, Witley and Woking community recycling centres.