Not all

We couldn’t collect, reuse and deliver over 300 tonnes of furniture and electrical goods every year without our team of amazing volunteers like Dan.

Dan is volunteering at HFS Bexhill while he is looking for work.

Store Manager Gerald says “Since he started volunteering, Dan has gained the experience and confidence to play a full part in the team. He’s a real asset for us, helping out with collections and deliveries, and also helping in the store. It’s great to see people like Dan join us and develop their skills so they can move on into work.”

Be like Dan! If you can spare a few hours, we need more volunteers at both stores most days, including Saturdays. Find out more about volunteering here.

Rescue unloved furniture

Make a New Year Resolution to boost your wellbeing and rescue an unloved piece of furniture with our January Furniture Restoration course.

Join a friendly small group and work with our supportive tutor to learn new skills. You’ll find out how to use tools safely, sand down, repair and restore a small piece of furniture from our store to take home.

Wednesdays for 4 weeks from 9th Jan 2019 9.30am – 4pm at HFS Bexhill.

This is a free course – pay just £5 deposit to book a place in-store.

Beach-hut Book-Swaps

Pathways beach hut themed box

The new book-swap-box at Pathways, a residential setting for people with a history of mental health issues, has proved very popular.

Pathways tell us:

“There has been lots of interest in the book-swap, and we love finding new books in the box and meeting the people using the beach-hut.

“The neighbours seem pretty pleased as well. One knocked on the door to tell us she thought the book-swap was the best thing Pathways had ever done for the community, and it showed how well Pathways is run.

“We learned lots of new skills including how to drill, how to put in screws, how to paint, how to cement a post, how to make invites and more; these skills with the skills we will gain in keeping the stock fresh and keeping the Community Book Swap going will be valuable to our futures.

Read more about the Book-Swap-Box project 

First BookSwapBox

Our first BookSwapBox is in action at Rock House, a community-owned co-working space enjoyed by dozens of small enterprises and self-employed folk.

All our BookSwapBoxes will be customised for the community they serve. Rock House wanted something that would fit in with their colour themes and decor so they have a sleek bookcase with funky bright shelves.

Our next group, Pathways, are going to help us make their BookSwapBox and have chosen a Beach Hut theme – we can’t wait to see it!

Read more about the project.

Thrift Fest is this Saturday!

The big day is Saturday 22nd September!

We’re celebrating 30 years of furniture reuse with a whole day of community activities at the Hastings Centre on the Ridge (opposite Conquest Hospital).

Please join us and have fun making, doing and trying new activities that don’t cost the earth!

Free advance tickets are available until the end of Friday on Eventbrite, or you can pay just £1 per adult on the door.

The programme and ticket link are on our website here.

Work with us!

Our Matt is leaving HFS to work on long-distance and overseas removals. Matt started with us on the L-earn project, progressed to complete an Apprenticeship and has been with us for an amazing 7 years.

Join our team!

We’re recruiting a full-time Collection & Delivery Driver to help our teams at both Hastings and Bexhill stores. It’s a very active job with lots of variety.

Here’s Robyn to tell you more about working with HFS:

To apply, download and complete the application form here.

Give us a tip

HFS was established 30 years ago this year.

To celebrate our 3 decades of furntiure reuse, HFS is hosting “Thrift Fest” at the Hastings Centre on Saturday 22nd September, where we will launch a crowd-sourced Thrifty Tips book.

Thrift Fest is a day showcasing way to live a fun-filled, creative, active, rich life without costing the earth. The day will be packed full of activities, workshops and entertainment provided by local community groups, reflecting the ethos of HFS: DIY, reuse, upcycling, sharing practical skills, and being active in the community.

Have you got a thrifty tip to share? Individuals and organisations that successfully submit a Thrifty Tip for the book will be named in print and receive a free copy at Thrift Fest.

Send your ideas to thrifty@hfs.org.uk by the end of August.

The book will be designed and printed locally by HFS supporters. Copies will be available for sale with all proceeds going to the charity.

Don’t forget to order your free book-in-advance tickets for Thrift Fest on 22nd September!

New look

We’re refreshing the look of our fleet of collection and delivery vans over the next few weeks, thanks to Thomas Design & Graphics in St Leonards.

We hope the new design will catch your eye when you see us out and about, and help people become more aware of our services.

As a small local charity we don’t have much of an advertising budget, so we want to make the most of these “mobile billboards”.

Part of the new design is the statement fighting furniture poverty since 1988 – 30 years this year! Check out our anniversary celebration ThriftFest on Sat 22nd September.

Call Now ButtonCall HFS