Reuse Littleborough want your unwanted items

Reuse Littleborough

Charity group Reuse Littleborough is urging the people of Rochdale and Littleborough to donate their unwanted items to the group, rather than dumping them.

Reuse Littleborough, entirely run by volunteers at Stevenson Square in Smallbridge, aim to reuse many every day items that would otherwise end up in the bin. After just 10 days at the store, kindly donated for use by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, they are brimming with donations.

Following a successful campaign in 2015/16 when they sent a 40ft container to the Forever Angels Baby Home in Tanzania, the group are back up and running with even bigger ideas to get the people of Littleborough and Rochdale to donate their unwanted items, many of which can be reused.

Forever Angels Baby Home was set up by Amy Hathaway, who now lives in Bolton, after she found four dying babies in a hospital closet. She was told they were dying of AIDS, but actually, they were dying from starvation and neglect. She started the home which has cared for over 300 babies.

This year, they are supporting Forever Angels again, due to an upcoming ban on imports of used clothing entering Tanzania by 2019. New clothes have already been banned in Tanzania as part of the East African Community’s plan to boost regional trade of their diminishing textile industry.

In addition to helping the baby home, Reuse Littleborough also reuse unwanted items locally and have helped a young couple who live in Smallbridge to furnish their home with a table top cooker, plates and cups and a settee. They have also helped local homeless group, Angie’s Angels, secure storage space.

Angie’s Angels offer help to homeless people who are getting back into accommodation by supplying small items of furniture.

Michael Bamford, who runs Reuse Littleborough, said: “We want to develop and grow this as a community base and we’ll support whoever needs supporting.

“Last time we supported the baby home because it was a new thing for us and we’ve shown how people’s items can be reused really well.

“We are building up relationships with local charities to help make our reuse group a permanent centre to reuse unwanted items locally. With the full backing of some great local councillors and our former MP, we are hoping to secure a better more permanent location to help even more people in our town.”

The group accept the following donations, amongst many other items: 

• Baby and children's clothes.
• School clothing, including shirts, skirts, shorts, pants and black shoes.
• Toiletries, including toothbrushes, shampoo, wipes, cotton wool, buds.
• Medical items such as plasters, bandages, syringes, Calpol, thermometers, sanitary products.
• Children’s toys.
• Pre-school toys, books.
• Disabled equipment for children.
• Wheelchairs.
• Other clothing

White goods cannot be accepted.

To find out more, contact Michael:

reuselittleborough@gmail.com
07951 730458