Recruiter past charity Aspire gets funding for ‘Funky Furniture’
22 May 2013
Oxford-based social enterprise Aspire Oxfordshire, Recruiter’s charity of choice for 2012-13, received a significant boost last Thursday (16 May), winning funding from the general public for its furniture upcycling project ‘Funky Furniture’.
Wed, 22 May 2013
Attendees of The Funding Network’s Oxford Gives event gave the project £5,600. The money will be used to buy workbenches, tools and equipment for the project, which sees trainees salvage, renovate and sell used furniture.
At the Dragons Den-style event, Aspire chief executive officer Rick Mower said: “We know we save the public purse a ton of money each year” – a conservative estimate being £1m.
The employability hopes of citizens of Oxford with an irregular employment background received a boost last week (16 May), as social enterprise Aspire Oxfordshire, the 2012-13 Recruiter charity of choice, won funding from the public for its ‘Funky Furniture’ upcycling project.
Aspire works with people with an irregular employment background, giving them practical work experience and the opportunity to build skills. In 2011, 62% of ‘trainees’ had a recent criminal history and 75% had a history of substance misuse. Of these, 94% did not re-offend, while 87% of those with previous substance misuse maintained their recovery.
Attendees of The Funding Network’s Oxford Gives event gave the project £5,600. The money will be used to buy workbenches, tools and equipment for the project, which sees trainees salvage, renovate and sell used furniture.
At the Dragons Den-style event, Aspire chief executive officer Rick Mower said: “We know we save the public purse a ton of money each year” – a conservative estimate being £1m.
