Mayor Opens New Community Shed in Hailsham Town Centre

A new Community Shed was opened by the Mayor of Hailsham, Cllr Paul Holbrook, in the town centre last weekend.

The Mayor cut the ribbon with Now! charity CEO Manon Brun and declared the Community Shed officially open, housed within the Furniture Now! store situated in Hailsham High Street.

The project aims to offer people in the community a safe space to socialise and learn new skills and will operate for a few days per week, run by volunteers. The Community Shed will also up-cycle its existing furniture (donated to the shop) and will be re-sold by the shop.

Both the Mayor and the Chair of the Now! charity, Gordon Sims, expressed their hopes for the future of the project. Gordon said: “At Furniture Now! Our vision is of a thriving community, free of local poverty, where equality and sustainability are at the forefront of our values.”

The aim is that the project will bring members of the community together to socialise and offer their experience or to learn to up-cycle small wooden items for resale in the shop.

Mayor Cllr Holbrook commented: “There are lots of people on benefits struggling at the moment and this is the type of place that is perfect and unique for them to come to.”

Furniture Now! supplies low-cost and reused household furniture and appliances, from sofas and dining sets to washing machines and freezers, as well as small household items. The charity is committed to re-using as much as possible, including electrical items. Their dual pricing policy offers even better value to those on benefits.

Lead volunteer, Dean Little, will be running the Community Shed and helping to get it established in the near future.

If you are interested in helping, please take the opportunity to go in and talk to any member of staff. If you have any small wooden items to donate, including lamp stands, picture frames, bedside tables, dining chairs or similar items, please take them into the shop at 9 High Street (opposite the post office).

Equally, if you need any small or large furniture like beds, settees or electrical goods, pop in to the shop and browse.

If you can make a donation and help towards financing the project, please visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hailsham-community-shed.

PHOTO COPYRIGHT: What’s On In Hailsham