Sewing Bee star’s support for charity Scrap Store

Reuse Network member, Emmaus Bolton, is a thriving charity, community and social enterprise offering a home, family, and work opportunities to formerly homeless people.

It’s Scrap Store is one of the many unique offerings the charity has to encourage reuse and make sustainable living more accessible to local people. The Scrap Store was opened back in 2021 by Sewing Bee contestant Damien Wilson. Read all about it below.

Sewing Bee star’s support for charity Scrap Store

When Sewing Bee TV contestant Damien Wilton was challenged to make clothing out of denim for Recycling Week on the TV show, he “learned a lot from the process”.

The Season Seven star said: “Before going on Sewing Bee I bought second-hand clothes and altered them to fit. I didn’t even think of deconstructing clothes and making something practical to wear.”

So, when Damien heard about his local homelessness charity setting up a scrap store of fabric, arts and crafts, he was delighted to come along and open it in 2021.

Damien was one of the first people to make a shirt out of recycled fabric on sale from the Emmaus Bolton Scrap Store. Since then, the charity’s volunteers have made draught excluders the charity has given away for people to keep warm in winter. Volunteers have also made purses, keyrings and teddy bears to help raise funds.

Emmaus Bolton provides a home, support and opportunities for people with experience of homelessness. The charity raises money by reusing donated items at a wide range of charity shops off Fletcher Street in the town and recycling others for the Scrap Store.

Damien added: “What Emmaus Bolton does is great because volunteers at the Recycling Centre are reusing old clothes people don’t want any more to sell on as fabric. I get a few items of material, buttons and thread from the Scrap Store to show that you can make something good from recycled material.

“Volunteering is a thoroughly rewarding experience and Emmaus Bolton is a lovely community to be a part of. I loved the atmosphere of the people and the community and asked if it was ok if I could volunteer…I have been going ever since.”

To find out more about Emmaus Bolton’s charity shops and services, including the Scrap Store, you can visit: www.emmaus.org.uk/bolton/

Donate to your local reuse charity

As the cost of living continues to rise, reuse charities need your donations now more than ever to help support low income households. If you have good quality household items to get rid of, contact your local reuse charity and arrange a collection.