Charity Re-opens Centre After Arson Attack

A charity helping low income families across Dorset is up and running again after its main storage centre in Bournemouth got burnt down in an arson attack last year.

The fire, which happened on the 20th January 2010, cost the charity £80,000-100,000 in furniture alone.

But this week (28th March 2011) the new centre in Bournemouth is once again taking in and selling unwanted household items.

To date, Dorset Reclaim has:

· helped over 24,000 families & individuals to furnish their homes

· distributed in excess of 80,000 items of furniture, electrical and household goods

· assisted 43,000 people dispose of their unwanted items and in so doing prevented over 25,000 tonnes going to landfill.

To achieve this they provide a free collection service to households trying to get rid of good quality, re-usable items.

The charity also works with approximately 125 volunteers on a daily basis, assisted by 25 paid staff across three centres in  Poole and Dorchester, together with their workshops in Christchurch

So far they've had 7,000 volunteers pass through their doors, half of whom have gone on to find full time employment & a further 20% have gone on to further education.

They also work in conjunction with Poole Probation services to help young offenders learn new skills.