Furniture Plus tackles poverty in Fife

Following a visit to the Pitreavie showroom of Furniture Plus, Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker has commended the charity’s efforts to combat poverty and social exclusion in Fife.

Furniture Plus – voted Fife Social Enterprise of the Year 2012 – provides low cost, quality goods and furnishings to low income households. Additionally, it offers employment and training opportunities to help volunteers gain skills and confidence.

Mr Walker joined Sales Manager Gail Jackson and former Managing Director Daniel Rous for a tour of the site and to learn about the work of Furniture Plus.

He said: “Furniture Plus takes a dual approach to tackling poverty by addressing both financial hardship and social exclusion. It aims to provide not only affordable furniture but also valuable work experience for people of all ages and across a wide range of areas, such as sales, vehicle teams and workshop. Most of its staff are volunteers.

“Anyone can buy from Furniture Plus, regardless of income, and are encouraged to do so. This enables the charity to carry out the work it does. Buying from Furniture Plus is also an environmentally conscious choice, since, according to their figures, they reuse or recycle 717 tonnes of goods a year.

“During my tour of the showroom, I was struck by how orderly everything is. It’s laid out like a typical furniture showroom, with categories such as living room, bedroom, office, nursery and bric-a-brac, so it makes for a pleasant shopping experience.

“In addition to all this, Furniture Plus also provides an excellent service called Maintenance Plus to the over 65s in Fife. Volunteers can help with a range of activities, including many that home-helps can’t provide. For example, they can carry out small repairs in the house, build flatpack furniture, do a spot of decorating or even just change a lightbulb. As well as helping others, trainee volunteers can gain new skills.”

More information about Furniture Plus, including volunteering, is available at www.furnitureplus.org.uk.

Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker meets Gail Jackson, Sales Manager of Furniture Plus

Gail Jackson, Sales Manager of Furniture Plus, with Bill Walker MSP in the showroom