Duhallow Furniture Revamp

With the assistance of the Community Services Programme Duhallow Furniture REVAMP has been in operation since January 2016 and is providing a range of in-demand services to the community and in particular to disadvantaged individuals and groups in Duhallow. In addition to the wide offering of good quality second-hand furniture for sale, Duhallow REVAMP provides a collection and delivery service, a repair, restoration and reupholstery service, which is proving extremely popular. A discount is also made available in an effort to further assist and entice those in receipt of social welfare, low-income households and students. A detailed workflow plan is in place to ensure that there is as little waste as possible and that project goals and priorities are met on time and within budget.

Councillor Ian Doyle, County Mayor visited the REVAMP workshop in June to meet the staff and commend them on their face mask production. Staff members Jessica Barron, Colm O’ Conor, CLLR Bernard Moynihan, IRD Duhallow Board members Annette O’ Mahony (Vice Chair) , Chair Breda Moynihan Cronin and Margaret McSweeney Expanding range of services Bringing targeted improvements to our workshops and skillsets is key in fulfilling the enterprise’s goals. The management of bulky goods is where Duhallow REVAMP concentrated its efforts and with the assistance of Cork County Council, were able to add important equipment like two new pneumatic lifting tables. Specifically designed for upholstery work and large item repairs, this addition considerably increases the scope of repair work Revamp can carry out by adapting the workshop environment to render this type of work practical, and more importantly safe. Large suites and sofas in need of new springs or foam can now be repaired instead of being disposed of; therefore also widening the scope of items we can accept for donations. Giving a new lease of life to those large pieces of furniture makes a big difference in the waste going to landfills.

Chairs repaired by our team at Revamp. Commitment to environmental goals With over 135 tons of furniture diverted from landfills to date, and over 120 tons redistributed back into the community through sales and refurbishment, Duhallow REVAMP is actively participating in a greener local environment. One of the principal aims of Duhallow REVAMP is to repair furniture items with as little waste as possible and with a strict adherence to using a minimum of 90% reuse goods and materials in its overall operations. To date, the average use of new material is 3% only, well below our guidelines. REVAMP also provide a free collection service, thereby contributing to a reduction in “greenhouse” gas emission and fly tipping, and providing a great incentive for everyone to play his or her part in creating a cleaner environment. Reaching out to the community Duhallow REVAMP is in touch with the difficulties faced by its main target groups. Committed to rendering our services as accessible as possible for the elderly, people in Attending Cork County Council receipt of social welfare, low income households Reuse Exhibition – REVAMP staff and students, a range of measures are in Colm O’Connor and Deborah Pearson with Cork County Mayor place. Our free collection service means that Christopher O’Sullivan. salvageable pieces of furniture can be removed from people’s homes without the hassle and costs of transporting them to a recycling centre. Our free delivery service helps people with no access to larger vehicles or people who would not be in a position to handle the weighty items into their home. These services are communicated through different media outlets and in particular, in the IRD Duhallow newsletter which reaches over 10,000 households every month. The discount available to these target groups is in place to ensure that no one is left without essential furniture for their house and that they can preserve quality of life. Continuous training and upskilling opportunities It is an important part of REVAMP’s operation to provide training through the Skillnets programme. These include essential training in health and safety, First Aid, manual handling to name a few. It is also an important aim of REVAMP to offer upskilling opportunities to staff and participants. In 2019, the efforts were focused on providing training in the fields of social media marketing and other computer skills amongst other things.

Jakub Nowacki and Krzysztof Lichorobiec repairing a couch on one of the two new pneumatic lifting tables funded by Cork County Council.

Commitment to quality goods and services Duhallow REVAMP, the first enterprise in the country to be awarded the Re-mark, Ireland’s Reuse Quality Mark of Excellence established by the CRNI, participated in producing a promotional video which is now used by the CRNI to show other enterprises the benefits of the Re-Mark.

REVAMP has made over 600 masks since the start of COVID 19 pandemic and demand is increasing since the Government announced the requirement to wear them on public transport. Jessica Barron is pictured sewing masks.

COVID-19 Response In compliance with Government guidelines regarding non-essential services our retail shop closed on Monday March 30th. As IRD Duhallow itself was deemed an essential IRD Duhallow Chair Breda Moynihan Cronin presents face service, our staff were masks made by REVAMP to Rathmore Social Action Group. happy to redeploy and support the other services that had to continue including the community laundry and meals service as well as the delivery service to people cocooning. We also began the production of face masks from our revamp workshop and to date have produced over 600 masks, many of which have been donated to local hospitals and nursing homes and are also available for sale to the general public.