Store First donates storage units to Burnley Health and Wellbeing Team

The donation is assisting the Burnley Health and Wellbeing Team and local volunteers who have been collecting furniture and household essentials for individuals and families moving into empty properties or facing difficult circumstances.

Alex from the Burnley Health and Wellbeing Team explained that many of the people they support are given properties with very little inside.

“Many of our patients may be escaping domestic abuse, experiencing homelessness, or simply moving into properties that are completely empty. Nine times out of ten they are given just a shell, so they don’t have the basic items they need to live comfortably,” Alex said.

After posting on social media asking for help, the response from the Burnley community was overwhelming. Donations of furniture and household items quickly began arriving - but there was a challenge: there was nowhere to store them.

Shelly Heap, who helped coordinate the donations through her large social media following, said the response from the public was incredible.

“A lot of people like to help when they’re asked. I was being offered so many items that my garage quickly became full, and I simply couldn’t store any more,” she said.

Shelly reached out on social media asking if anyone could offer storage space, which led to Store First stepping in to help.

Store First donated five storage units free of charge for a full year, providing the team with a secure space to store furniture ready to be delivered to those in need.

The units are already filled with donated items including sofas, beds, dining tables, TV units and televisions. Once items are delivered to households, the space will be used to collect and store further donations from the community.

“The support from Store First has been absolutely amazing,” Alex added. “Before this, we were having to turn donations away because we had nowhere to keep them.”

In addition to helping people furnish their homes, the project is also preventing good-quality furniture from being thrown away by giving items a second life.

Shelly also praised the Store First team for their support, adding: “The staff have been wonderful. They showed me the units, helped set everything up and gave me the keys so we could get started straight away,” she said.

Toby Whittaker, managing director, was happy to help the team behind the initiative. He said: “Store First has always helped people in the local communities around our stores, and we could offer this team space that has made an immediate difference to their community efforts.

“We hope they have great success in their project, and the 12 months storage donation should help support them with this on an ongoing basis.”

The initiative is also being supported by Digger Green Removals, who have been helping transport donated furniture to households across Burnley.

Thanks to the combined efforts of local volunteers, businesses and the community, essential household items are now reaching people who need them most.