The Great North Air Ambulance Service’s (GNAAS) clothing recycling team are relocating from Newton Aycliffe to the charity’s headquarters near Eaglescliffe in the North East by the end of the year.
GNAAS’ Trading Company has been recycling used clothing and office supplies since 2004 with all of its profits donated to the charity on an annual basis.
Second-hand items such as clothes and books, are regularly picked up by the recycling team from members of the public who live in the North East, Northumberland and Cumbria, and then sold to buyers within the UK and across Europe.
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 from the Trading Company are now preparing to move from their current location in Aycliffe’s Business Park to the charity’s headquarters in Urlay Nook, Eaglescliffe.
They will be joining their charity services colleagues who moved into the building in April 2019, and the critical care team who relocated their operations from Teesside Airport in August 2020.
David Stockton, chief executive officer at GNAAS, said: “With the lease agreement coming to an end at the current Newton Aycliffe site, 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.”
The Trading Company are continuing to operate this month but have begun a phased move to the charity’s HQ, with the aim to be fully operational in their new home in the first week of January.
Julie Jameson, facilities manager at GNAAS, said: “We’re very excited to welcome the Trading Company to our HQ and have so many of our teams under one roof. We’d like to thank Cleveland Containers who very kindly gave us a discount on two containers as well as JMI, Applebridge, Hawthorns Logistics, KT Transport, Premier Road Markings and 3C Services who are helping to make the transition run as smoothly as possible.”
The new address for GNAAS’ Trading Company will be Progress House, Urlay Nook Road, Eaglescliffe, TS16 0QB. Donations can be dropped off on site, or to arrange a collection of pre-loved clothing from your home call 01325 308 139.
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