A pioneering community charity has celebrated the opening of its first official base.
The offices and storage space of One Good Turn, Huddersfield’s free white goods, clothing and emotional support providers, is now at Burbeary Road in Lockwood.
The move is great news for founder Sophia Crawshaw, who had been storing the thousands of donations they get every month in garages and spare rooms around the town since she founded the charity in 2011.
The charity will be sharing a building with another Huddersfield charity, Uniform Exchange and will provide a hub for her dedicated team of 60 volunteers who travel across the region to deliver clothes, appliances and other goods to residents who cannot afford to buy them and have self or been referred to the charity.
So far the lives of hundreds of people have been improved by the service they provide.
Sophia, 42, said: “It is a great move forward for the charity.
“We have been in operation here since last May but it’s taken us until now to get everything finalised.
“It’s made a world of difference to us because we can now store items in one place and it’s created a hub for all of our volunteers, which makes us more efficient.
“They can come get their lunch here and not that they can meet each other regularly we now feel like more of a team.
“It has also allowed me to work away from home, where I was spending 60 hours a week working.”
It is the latest success for the group, which has received accolades from the Examiner’s Community Awards and the Halifax Giving Extra scheme and has recently completed the first stage of the Duke of York Awards for inspirational community-run groups.
Sophia said: “We are trying to get as many awards for our work as we can so that I can apply for funding grants.
“This would enable the charity to be able to employ more full time staff.
“We’re always on the look out for more volunteer drivers and welcome any donations.”
One Good Turn will be hosting five jumble sales in communities in the coming months.
Sophia said: “We’ll be taking our donations out to communities least likely to afford these items and who can’t afford the bus fare to get into town.”
A fundraising event for the charity will take place on February 28 at Grosvenor Casino with hypnotist Grant Saunders.
Tickets cost £10 each and can be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com .
For more information about volunteering, call 07530 930316 and to enquire about referrals, call 07772 194874.
