Eternal Benefits

Background

Eternal Benefits Furniture, based in Hull, was set up as a charity in November 2000 to help individuals and families on low income to get good quality furniture. Out of this has developed a sister organisation – ReRun – working on domestic appliances.

Graham White, Project Manager, and a team of 12 full time paid staff operate the service Monday to Friday from 10.00am until 4.00pm.  They collect furniture and other household goods, which are in good condition, and deliver them ‘free’ to individuals and families on low income, asking only for the cost of collection and delivery.  

Knowing that their funding from CRED will end in December 2007, the ReRun team is constantly looking at ways it could develop to meet the needs of its community and achieve its goal of becoming a self-sustaining enterprise.

Graham and his team knew that what most people needed, in addition to furniture, was a washing machine, but washing machines were expensive.  “We thought that with the right training we might be able to turn the shortfall in white goods service engineers to our advantage,” said Graham.  “We could generate income by repairing washing machines and supply donated, repaired washing machines to our clients.”

Advice and Support

When Graham White met Donna Murphy, Social Enterprise Co-ordinator, at one of the Social Enterprise meetings he talked to her about their ideas.  “We were delighted to be able to offer our help,” says Donna.  “This is just what learning grants were intended for – to help Social Enterprises acquire the skills to develop as a trading business and secure more income from trading activities.”

Graham had identified a course run by Dixon Training –a two-week ‘Fastrack’ intensive Domestic Applicance Service Engineer course designed to provide technical depth of knowledge combined with practical ‘real work based’ and ‘hands on’ application.  

Social Enterprise Humber funded three members of the team to undertake the course.  In addition four members of staff took a one-day PAT testing course.  Through their subsidiary ReRun they are now able to offer a domestic appliance service. When members of staff are more competent they will start to promote the service and advertise more machines for collection.

The added bonus for Graham is that Dixon Training now run the two-week ‘Fastrack’ courses on their premises and pays rent to Re-run!

The Future

Graham is also working with Social Enterprise Humber to complete monitoring forms and develop the objectives of the organisation, through the management of a social audit.  This ongoing review of their social, financial and environmental aims is something that Graham feels is crucial. He is also delighted to help other social enterprises facing the same challenges.  

Social Enterprise Humber is a Business Link Humber project sponsored by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund which aims to develop a strong and financially sustainable Social Enterprise sector through the following objectives:

• Growing bigger, better, more sustainable and more effective individual social enterprises.
• Creating new social enterprises with a focus on sustainability and quality.
• Developing a bigger market environment for social enterprises, and raising the profile and capability of the sector to deliver high quality services for the private and public sectors.
• Stimulating partnership developments with all sectors, public, private and voluntary/community.
• Facilitating segmented network activity to encourage peer support, information exchange and informal learning.
• Raising the profile and quality of sustainable social enterprise support within the sub-region, and building capacity, skills and understanding within the support infrastructure.

For further information contact     
Emma Buttrick
Social Enterprise Administrator
        Business Link Humber
        Tel 01724 291526
        Fax 01724 291511
        Mob 07795605228
        www.sehumber.co.uk