|
Pyramids charity
shop drives ahead with fundraising scheme to accept donations of old
cars and vans
A BIRKENHEAD charity shop
is driving ahead with a novel way of boosting its revenue by
encouraging Wirral motorists to donate their old cars or vans.
Faced with stiffer competition from commercial organisations for
donated goods such as clothing and bric-a-brac, the ExtraCare
Charitable Trust shop in Pyramids Shopping Centre has been looking
at new ways of bringing in cash.
The charity delivers programmes which enable older people to enjoy
healthier, more active and independent lifestyles.
One of the schemes to accelerate its fundraising work is a drive to
have motorists agree to hand over the proceeds from either
auctioning off or scrapping their old unwanted cars and vans.
To get it on the road ExtraCare has teamed up with Giveacar, a
non-profit social enterprise which collects banger-class vehicles
for charity.
Regardless of their condition, cars or vans are taken in free of
charge by Giveacar before being sold through an online auction or
disposed of at an authorised scrapage facility.
Proceeds from the sale are then donated to charities such as
ExtraCare.
Even if the donated vehicle ends up being scrapped, it could still
net the charity between £40 and £250.
Dawn Breen, who has been manager of ExtraCare at Pyramids since it
opened just over four years ago, said:- “We never really had a
problem with getting people to donate items for us to sell in the
shop. However, we’ve recently been getting quite a bit of
competition from commercial organisations which offer cash for
clothing and other items.
We recently decided to explore other avenues of attracting revenue
and came across this very interesting idea of working with Giveacar
to encourage people to donate their unwanted vehicles.
It all works very simply and we will help anyone who is interested
in taking advantage of the scheme with the details. They basically
just come into the shop and we put them in touch with Giveacar which
makes all the arrangements, either online or over the phone, for the
car or van to be taken to auction or for scrapping.
Getting rid of an unused or unwanted vehicle can often be quite a
problem but this scheme takes all the pain and inconvenience out of
it for you. Giveacar also arranges everything in a legal and
environmentally friendly way.
We have 27 volunteer assistants at the shop. They have been fully
trained on the scheme and are all very excited about it.
In the past we’ve had a couple of calls from people wanting to
donate cars or vans to us but, up to now, we’ve had no way of
arranging this. That’s why I believe the new scheme should do really
well for us.”
Derek Millar, Commercial Director for Pyramids Shopping Centre,
said:- “We are all very conscious of supporting charity and
this new ExtraCare scheme seems like a great idea to me.
It is convenient for motorists looking to offload an old car and
will raise valuable funds for a great cause. I would urge anyone
with an old car to consider visiting Dawn and her team to hand over
their old car keys!”
ExtraCare, which has a national network of charity shops, represents
a modern alternative to the traditional care or nursing home.
It operates 14 retirement villages and 17 smaller housing
developments across the country and derives its funding from a
variety of sources including payments for its housing, care and
support services and charity shops.
The Pyramids shop sells a wide range of men’s and women’s clothing
and accessories, books, media, children’s toys and bric-a-brac.
To enquire about donating you unwanted vehicle, call into the
ExtraCare charity shop in the Pyramids, visit:-
giveacar.co.uk, or call the Giveacar team on:- 020
7736 4242, quoting The ExtraCare Charitable Trust as your chosen
charity.
|
 |
TV LICENSING -
UNLICENSED LANDLORDS IN SOUTHPORT FACE THE SIN BIN AND £1,000 FINE
WITH the 2014 RBS 6 Nations
championship kicking off on Saturday, 1 February 2014, TV Licensing is
reminding pubs and clubs in Southport and Liverpool areas, to make sure they are
correctly covered by a TV Licence.
Any pub, club or sporting venue which shows live television must
have a valid TV Licence. If there is living accommodation on the
premises where a TV is also in use, this must be covered by a
separate licence. Pubs without a valid licence are breaking the law
and run the risk of a court prosecution and fine of up to £1,000 per
offence plus costs.
Paul Williams, TV Licensing spokesman, said:- “With around 61
pubs in or within 6.2 miles of Southport, many fans and supporters
will choose to watch the matches in their local pub or rugby club,
soaking up the atmosphere whilst cheering on their country’s finest
15.
It’s important pubs and clubs are correctly licensed and we know
landlords and managers want to stay within the law, which is why we
are issuing this advice ahead of the 2014 RBS 6 Nations tournament.”
Martin Caffrey, Operations Director, Federation of Licensed
Victuallers Association, added:- “I would like to encourage
landlords and licensees as well as bar and club managers to make
sure they are up to date with their TV Licensing requirements ahead
of what is always a busy time of year for the UK’s pubs and clubs.
Showing live sport is a massive draw for millions of pub-goers so
I’d urge those in charge of buying the TV Licence to check the bar
is correctly licensed while they have the time. From Saturday 1
February things could get very busy.”
Landlords or managers who would like more information about TV
Licensing requirements, or ways to spread the cost, can call the TV
Licensing businesses team on:- 0300 790 6131 or visit:-
tvlicensing.co.uk/businesses.
A TV in the Workplace Policy is also available to help managers and
landlords explain TV Licensing rules to staff in the workplace.
Download the Policy at:-
bit.ly/MNnV0F.
New report urges
action to resolve housing crisis
URGENT action is needed to resolve a housing
crisis that is blighting a generation, according to a major new
policy document published this week by the CLA.
Tackling the Housing Crisis in England looks at what needs to be
done to resolve the Government’s estimated shortfall in housing
supply of some 230,000 homes a year and sets out CLA policy on
housing for the next 5 years.
The report proposes a raft of recommendations to ease the housing
crisis, including encouraging private landowners to build affordable
homes by broadening the types of provider accepted by Councils,
recognising that landowners can pool their resources to speed up the
creation of garden cities and using welfare reform as a means for
extending the range of housing.
CLA North Regional Director Dorothy Fairburn said:- “New homes
are urgently needed to keep communities in the countryside alive.
Without this housing, we will lose the young people and services
needed to keep rural areas economically viable. More
retirement homes are also needed in rural areas so older people can
pass on farm holdings to the next generation.”
The CLA wants to see new homes for first time buyers and for
existing owners looking to downsize. It wants to see more retirement
homes which will enable people to pass on farm holdings to a younger
generation; and help clear the tenancy logjam that is hampering the
future of farming; and it wants to see changes to a tax regime
which is seen as a fundamental block to new housing supply,
particularly in the let sector.
The report also calls for:-
► Better and more consistent advice from planning authorities
► A review of Energy Performance Certificates so older rented
accommodation is not taken out of use
► Exemption from Council Tax for vacant older buildings being
brought up to minimum energy performance standards
► An extension of the Landlords Energy Savings Allowance instead of
replacing it with expensive Green Deal loans.
“Our recommendations reflect a vision where you no longer have
to live in an urban location to work effectively. In conjunction
with improvements to transport policy and rural broadband delivery,
our proposals will help to level development land values across the
country,” added Miss Fairburn.
Alnwick based landowner Mark Bridgeman, who chairs
the CLA’s national housing working group, was closely involved in
the development of the new policy document. He said:- “How
the Government delivers housing supply is crucial to a range of
inter-connected issues; including the north-south divide, an ageing
population and an economy that is still recovering from the global
financial crisis.” |
