Jobs Fair
We’ll be supporting Bexhill Jobs Fair on Friday 5th April, taking along info about our services, volunteering and our current job vacancy.
The event is at De La Warr Pavilion and entry is free.
Read more about the event here.
Work with HFS
Help our team deliver excellent, friendly, capable, professional services for our donors and customers.
You need a full, clean driving license, van-driving and lifting experience, and the ability to work alongside a diverse range of volunteers and trainees.
Job Title Collection & Delivery Driver
Hours Full-time, 37.5 hours a week from Tues-Sat
Salary £17,062 (£8.75 ph)
Contract Initially a 6-month fixed-term contract with possibility of extension.
Apply by 12 noon Tues 9th April 2019
Disappointing
Government Minister James Brokenshire
Our application for funding to redevelop our Bexhill site, to create a hub of supportive workspaces for start-ups and small enterprises and extend our furniture store, was selected for the final stage of the Coastal Communities Fund (CCF). This is a highly competitive national grant scheme; only very strong project proposals reach the final round.
CCF received 61 final stage applications requesting a total of £84 million, against a budget of £34 million available, so only 40% could be successful. The final decisions were made by the Government’s Secretary of State of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Disappointingly, our bid was one of the 60% not selected for funding this time. And, without the CCF grant, we will not able to draw down the matched funding to go ahead with the redevelopment this year.
However, the hard work we have done to get the project to this stage, and all the support we have received from local organisations, means we are ready to go when new funding opportunities arise.
In the meantime, our Bexhill store is still busy providing affordable reused furniture for local residents and businesses. We’re not going away!
Punching
We have been working hard on funding bids for the redevelopment of our Bexhill site to make a much larger HFS store and a hub of affordable workspaces for local start-up enterprises.
As a small social enterprise, HFS has done really well to get to the final stages of 3 funds that could together cover the costs of this ambitious project. Most of the other bidders are large organisations or local authorities with teams dedicated to the task (plus Legal, HR, Finance departments)!
We are particularly proud to reach the final round of the national Coastal Communities Fund. We’re told we are the only project in the County to get this far. We are also through to the final stages of the SELEP growth fund and CHART.
There is no guarantee of funding at this stage and the project can only go ahead if the bids are successful. We are waiting to hear from the funders, and hope to have news in the next few weeks.
WoW van
Our Workshop on Wheels (WoW van) will be back out on the road in the Spring, ready to offer free skills sessions to local community groups, thanks to a generous donation from the Mason Charitable Foundation.
The van is equipped with workbenches and tools so we can provide short workshops anywhere in Hastings and Rother.
We have helped community groups undertake their own projects such as restoring benches in a community garden, making raised beds or decorating.
We can also provide a short course for members of your community group. The Oasis Community Project based at Ore Community Centre, for example, used their time with the WoW van to learn furniture restoration.
Interested in booking a WoW van visit for your group? Get in touch with Angie Lowe at angie@hfs.org.uk to find out more about what’s on offer.
Happy Holidays!
Our team is taking a seasonal break from Sunday 23rd December to Tuesday 1st January.
HFS stores will re-open on Wednesday 2nd January, packed with great quality affordable furniture for your homes.
See you in 2019!
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.
Thrift Fest success
Hundreds of people flocked to Thrift Fest on Saturday 22nd September for a full day of community activities.
HFS organised the event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the charity, bringing together a wide range of local community groups to offer a variety of activities with a theme of living well without costing the earth.
