It’s been an exciting month for our clothing recycling team, as they loaded the first trucks full of donated items at their new home in Eaglescliffe.
At the start of this year our Trading Company, which collect and recycle used clothing, books and other items, relocated from their unit in Aycliffe’s Business Park to our headquarters in Urlay Nook, Eaglescliffe.
They have joined our charity services colleagues who moved into the building in April 2019, and our critical care team who relocated their operations from Teesside Airport in August 2020.
David Stockton, chief executive officer at GNAAS, said: “When our lease agreement was coming to an end at our Newton Aycliffe site last year, we decided it was in the charity’s interests to move our clothing recycling operation to our headquarters in Eaglescliffe.
“The move will allow us to reduce our overheads, increase interoperability between the teams at HQ and will provide an opportunity to re-invest these savings to support the future growth of the Trading Company and its subsequent fundraising for our front-line service.”
Clothing is one of the main items our team collects, but they also take curtains, towels, handbags, belts, shoes in pairs, and bedding, apart from quilts and pillows. We must stress that we do not collect bric a brac but will happily take books in a separate bag.
Over the years, the team have built strong relationships with buyers in the UK and mainland Europe, who purchase clothing and other items donated by our supporters, with the profits being donated back to our charity.
Despite covid and the war in Ukraine impacting the Trading Company’s activity, their most recent donation to the charity was £200,000, which will fund over 40 call-outs.
The team have now settled into their new home, and less than a month after moving into our HQ, we were delighted to see the first of many trucks being loaded with bags of donated items.
Phil Hall, commercial projects manager, said: “It was a proud moment seeing our textile buyers picking up their first collections in our new home. Our colleagues Jamie and Adam loaded two trucks up with over 100 Botany bags each, and these are now being shipped off for sorting and further distribution by our customers abroad.
“I’d like to thank our supporters for making this possible, as the money raised from their donated items will help our critical care team continue to help those in need.”
To make collections easier, the Trading Company offer a service Monday to Saturday, where people can book in a collection at a pre-arranged time, so they can feel reassured that their donated items are going directly to the charity.
This service is available across the North East, Northumberland and Cumbria and can be booked via GNAAS’ Facebook page facebook.com/GNairambulance or by calling 01325 308 139.
Donations can also be dropped off on-site at The Trading Company’s new address, which is Progress House, Urlay Nook Road, Eaglescliffe, TS16 0QB.
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