News
Contract Successes
Furniture Plus Trading is a social enterprise holding a range of contracts with both the public and private sector in the following areas:
- Furniture start-up packs
- Clear and recycle of void properties
- Grounds and garden maintenance
- P.A.T testing
- Cleaning
These contracts help us move towards sustainability and create more job and training opportunities for those who are long-term unemployed or are having difficulty securing full-time employment. Contracts are currently held with Fife Council, Kingdom Housing, Fife Special Housing, Evans Easyspace and Hillcrest Housing.
Calor Scottish Community of the Year Award
Furniture Plus Trading is delighted to hold the title of Calor Community Business of the Year , which we won against stiff opposition last year. The judges praised the “clear business objectives” and were impressed by how Furniture Plus Trading “had capitalised on business opportunities by starting new services to create employment opportunities”.
Visitors
This month staff from Furniture Plus and Furniture Plus Trading undertook a study visit to Wales as guests of Pack-IT, an award-winning social enterprise in Cardiff. Operations manger Ian Browse and our then Business Manager visited a range of social enterprises including FRAME, Track 2000 and Greenshoots to share ideas and look at examples of best practice in the sector.
Robin Harper (MSP) visit
We were delighted to welcome Robin Harper, MSP for the Green party to our Dysart warehouse last month.
Robin had expressed an interest in visiting our organisation after hearing of our recent success in the Waste Aware Scotland Awards, where we picked up the award for Best Community Waste Initiative. After a tour of the warehouse and chance to meet with some of the staff and volunteers, Robin declared himself amazed at the size of the operation and surprised by the wide range of goods collected and donated. He commented that reuse and recycle organisations were playing a significant part in helping local authorities meet their landfill.
Robin also spent some time with the management team discussing the implications of the new WEEE initiative, and Ian Browse, Operations Manager for Furniture Plus explained that the Dysart site is now a fully compliant DCF for electrical waste.
Before leaving, Robin commended Furniture Plus on the work being done to reuse and recycle unwanted furniture and white goods in Fife, and wished us every continued success for the future. A musician at heart, he also couldn’t resist a quick tinkle of the ivories on a refurbished piano which he found in the warehouse – and decided very reluctantly that there was just no way he was going to get it back to Edinburgh on the train.
Determined to succeed
Under the Scottish Executive’s Determined to Succeed project, Furniture Plus Trading and Viewforth High School have formed strong partnership links to promote enterprise and eduation.
The two organisations will work together on a range of projects including
- Work placements
- Volunteering
- Marketing and business education.
Senior pupils attended our annual fundraising event in November, while the Higher Business Management class are working closely with our Business Manager to develop a marketing strategy for the organisation. These pupils presented their ideas at a Dragons’ Den event recently which has generated a lot of interest from other schools and social enterprises. The pupils will continue to work in partnership with Furniture Plus Trading and have been responsible for updating and redesigning this website under the watchful eye of our web designer Simon Fraser.
