Resurrection Furniture
Our (Church) in the High Street has been in its new premises at 21b since the summer of 2021 and it’s fair to say that trade has dramatically increased as a result. We normally have a number of people volunteering at any one time and we are very much busier than ever we were in the ‘old’ shop.
Our story is that the idea for the shop was stimulated by the monthly furniture sales, which had been going for over 30 years. A faithful group of workers had consistently raised money, mostly for church upkeep, over all that time. The monthly sales are a fixture in the community, and the new Monthly Market continues to be held on the first Saturday of each month at the Parish Centre selling bric-a-brac rather than large items of furniture.
However, an anonymous donor came long a few years ago and offered to pay the rent for 3 years for a shop that would be open for much more time than just one Saturday a month and would present the great opportunity of having a “Church on the High Street”, something that we were all keen to have. Then over the early months of 2017 many helpers appeared to renovate and transform the shop so that it could be opened. Enough volunteers came forward so that it could be operated and we opened in the summer of 2017. When Robin Lees (one of the Trustees and founder member) was interviewed for the Midweek Encouragement in March 2021 he said that all this just seemed to be a “message from God”.
Our charitable objectives are:
To help support youth work with children and young people in the Parish;
To help maintain and improve the buildings that belong to the parish;
To provide discounted or free items of furniture for people in need; and
To provide a Christian presence on the High Street.
The charity is also able to contribute to other good causes within the community. We have so far donated monies to the King’s Arms, Church buildings and to Youth Work, Alton Women’s Refuge, Alton Community Cupboard and Christians against Poverty.
We rely on donations of good quality furniture and household items, such as dining tables & chairs, sofas, chests of drawers, occasional tables and small electrical items. Anyone downsizing, looking for interesting furniture or clearing out their older items might like to visit the shop and see what the project is all about. Our website is www.resurrectionfurniture.co.uk
We need volunteers to help run the shop, to manage collection and delivery of furniture and to do other tasks and not all of them are strenuous. Please contact the shop manager if you think you might be able to help. (01420 84809) or shop@resurrectionfurniture.co.uk
This is a project where everyone wins, it avoids throwing away unwanted furniture, people can obtain good quality furniture at an affordable price, we all enjoy helping or visiting the shop and the environment gains through re-use of goods and avoidance of landfill.