Leeds Wood Recycling, the Holbeck-based social enterprise that recycles waste wood from the construction sector and trains people in woodworking skills, suffered a major setback at Christmas when one of the vans was stolen.
They have been running a crowdfunding campaign to replace the van. They are half way to their target of £20,000 – which will be matched by Aviva – but time is running out, so they have renewed their call for support.
Founder Charlie Stanley explained:
“On Christmas Eve one of our vans was stolen from a locked compound in what was a targeted and planned robbery.
“The van was a key part of our livelihood, and purchased with a loan for £21,000 two years ago. We are awaiting our insurance to pay out for the loss of the van but we know it will not cover all the costs we now face. It won’t cover the cost of getting a replacement cage and it certainly won’t cover the lost revenue, van hire and staff wages during this period. The van was how we earnt our money and we need your help!”
If you’ve some cash to spare you can support their crowdfunder here, but hurry the appeal has just ten days left to run.
Leeds Wood Recycling is a social enterprise with an environmental and social mission. It has been running for 6 years, working hard collecting and repurposing waste timber otherwise destined for landfill across Yorkshire, “Doing social good, using your waste wood”.
They employ 13 staff, and work with over 20 volunteers many of whom have been marginalised and had challenges in getting employment.
Timber collected by us is reused to change lives, empower, and up-skill volunteers by reducing waste and benefiting the community. Any profits we generate directly benefit the people in West Yorkshire by enabling them to receive free training and employability opportunities, to date the social enterprise has:
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Run specialised work experience programs for adults with learning difficulties and disabilities
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Worked with people suffering from isolation and loneliness offering free woodwork training classes
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Helped many young people get the much-needed work experience to get them into employment by offering free training, practical skills and work experience.
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Diverted over 43,965 cubic yards from landfill, changing and challenging the ‘norms’ on how industries view waste wood in their industries. Working with construction sites, manufacturing, packaging and domestic customers. Educating businesses and the public in circular economy and reuse.
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Worked with hundreds of amazing volunteers, helping people upskill, connect and thrive into employment, or improve their well being through the empowerment of community.
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