Philip Reade is project manager at the charity, Waste Not, Want Not, who provide furniture and household goods to low income families, people who have been homeless and those who have fled domestic abuse. Here, we will look further into Waste Not, Want Not and how Cinch Self Storage Chippenham has been of help. 

Waste Not, Want Not are a charity which began life as an idea thought up by a group of people who worked in a large housing association, citizens advice and social services. They all saw that many of the people they helped did not have a lot of money and were moving into completely empty properties and finding it hard to make them a home. Or, if someone without a lot of money and something breaks, they find it a struggle to replace the broken item. 

The reverse of this is that there are a lot of people happy to give household goods away if someone is happy to turn up in a van and take it away. The founders saw that there was an opportunity to match the two ideas together. And Waste Not, Want Not was born. 

Waste Not, Want Not Help Create A Fresh Start 

As we have already mentioned, Waste Not, Want Not collect surplus furniture and household goods, that are still in good condition, from people happy to give it away. Then, they sell it for a small price to people on low income. 

They also have a scheme called Fresh Start. This was introduced in 2016, when councils, housing associations and the government no longer had the budget to help people in crisis. Through funding for Fresh Start, Waste Not, Want Not are able to help someone who, for instance, has fled domestic abuse or has previously been homeless. Many of these people will be allocated social housing which they are excited about but it is quite a shock when they walk into an empty box. 

By the nature of their circumstances, they do not have the usual things people buy and own over the years so, through Fresh Start, Waste Not, Want can provide them with cookers, fridges, beds and other much needed essentials. 

Waste Not, Want Not and Fresh Start are able to help them convert their empty property into a home that they can begin to rebuild their lives in. 

Who Waste Not, Want Not Helps 

Waste Not, Want Not is able to provide its services in Chippenham and the surrounding area for those whose household income is below £35,000. People can approach them directly if they are just a low income family in need of support. In order to be a part of Fresh Start, you do need to be referred by a third party. 

Along with all of this, they also take on volunteers with additional needs through the programme, Building Bridges. Building Bridges help 16-25 year olds who are perceived as having barriers to getting employment. Volunteering with Waste Not, Want Not helps them to build their confidence and many have left their volunteering roles and gone on to paid employment. They also have pupils, from specialist schools for people with ASD, who come to them for work experience. 

Waste Not, Want Not help many people over the many years it has been a charity. 

How Has Cinch Self Storage Chippenham Helped 

Waste Not, Want Not are reliant on donations and these often ebb and flow meaning sometimes they have a lot of stuff, sometimes not much at all. Using self storage has given them a place to store items so they can always have furniture ready for the people in need. 

“Having a storage facility where we can put cookers, fridges etc. means that we always have stock, particularly for someone from Fresh Start who is setting up a home.” 

The empathy Phillip found from our Chippenham manager, Andrew, has also been a big factor in making Cinch Self Storage Chippenham a great storage partner.

“It was a pleasant surprise to find someone like Andew who has great empathy for people like our customers. He was happy to help us and we were happy to have him help us. The experience has been excellent. Andrew gave me a guided tour and took me through procedures to gain access and set alarms. It all works very well and is good value all round.”

How You Can Help Waste Not, Want Not 

Waste Not, Want Not are always open to donations. On their website you can find a telephone number and you can phone to arrange for someone to come and view the items you want to donate. 

There is also an online form which you can fill in and someone will call you back to arrange a viewing. They can collect items from Chippenham, Corsham, Calne, Malmesbury, Melksham and the surrounding villages.

To find out more, please head to their website – waste-not-want-not.org.uk

If you would like to know more about Cinch Self Storage Chippenham, please click here.