£20k furniture giveaway benefits charities and community groups in Cornwall
29 January 2024
Sealife Trust collects items at Fentenfenna Farm with Perran Moon and Emma Rowse
Voluntary organisations and community groups in Cornwall have benefited from thousands of pounds worth of office furniture donated by engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV.
Perran Moon, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, was contacted by Royal HaskoningDHV when they wanted help to donate more than £20,000 worth of IT equipment, office furniture and kitchen supplies due to an office move.
Perran contacted Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum (VSF), a charity that aims to connect, support, and promote the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, who was able to coordinate a large-scale operation to ensure the donated items were given a new lease of life within the sector.
31 voluntary organisations and community groups collected items from Fentenfenna Farm CIC, located on the outskirts of Newquay, who kindly donated the use of its barn space to accommodate the project.
Royal HaskoningDHV is a global engineering and environmental consultancy which is currently working on projects in Cornwall. These projects will improve transport accessibility for local communities and as part of this work, the company has been looking for more ways to make sure that local residents and voluntary organisations benefit from Royal HaskoningDHV’s presence in the county.
The company will be working in Cornwall for at least the next two years and is already looking for further ways to work with local residents, schools and voluntary organisations.
Cornwall Heritage Trust collects items from Fentenfenna Farm
I came across Perran Moon at a conference where he mentioned how challenging it can be for local charities in Cornwall to get the support they need. I had been looking for ways that our company can provide meaningful support to local organisations, and so when the decision was made to downsize our London office, it seemed clear that this was a way we could potentially help. I’m delighted that so many of our colleagues helped to make this happen, and even more delighted that the Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum has been able to help get so much to local groups.
Royal HaskoningDHV
It’s brilliant to be able to support the voluntary and community sector in Cornwall through Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum. I was contacted by Royal HaskoningDHV in London who had seen me at a Coast & Country conference discussing the particular difficulties we face in Cornwall and the incredible work that the voluntary sector does to support our communities.
If there are any other organisations looking to refurbish their offices or they have materials that would otherwise be chucked away, it’s a really great way of repurposing all of this fantastic furniture for a much better cause.
Not only has the office furniture provided much needed items for voluntary and community sector organisations in Cornwall who might otherwise have struggled to purchase these things, it’s also stopped four Luton vans full of furniture going into landfill so the environmental benefits of repurposing, reusing and recycling these kinds of items are really exciting too.
Cornwall VSF
Thanks so much for organising this. Our meeting room looks lovely with the new chairs – they are practical, comfortable and stylish.
It is not something we could have afforded to do in one hit but has made a real difference to the look and feel of the place. I have a huge smile on my face and keep walking in there to look at them. Huge thanks to the company who donated them.
Bosence Farm Community