Seaham Youth & Community Centre has now raised over £3,900 through its partnership with Fundraise & Recycle, turning unwanted clothes and textiles into vital funds for the activities and services it provides.
And its success provides a great example of what can happen when an organisation really gets behind its clothes bank.
Simply having a clothes bank isn't enough. The most successful partners make recycling visible, convenient and part of the conversation within their community.
Seaham Youth & Community Centre has done exactly that.
Their clothes bank is positioned in a highly visible location, making it easy for visitors and members of the local community to see and use it.
They also consistently promote the bank through social media, reminding supporters that donating unwanted clothing is another simple way they can help the organisation.
As participation grew, the centre took things one step further and requested a second clothes bank, giving its community even more capacity to recycle and fundraise.
The result?
More than £3,900 raised so far.
The beauty of textile fundraising is that supporters don't necessarily need to reach into their pockets.
Instead, they can look inside their wardrobes.
Clothes that no longer fit, shoes that are no longer worn and textiles sitting unused can all contribute towards generating funds when they're recycled through an organisation's Fundraise & Recycle clothes bank.
For Seaham Youth & Community Centre, those individual donations have collectively generated thousands of pounds towards its community initiatives.
It's a brilliant demonstration of how small actions across a large group of people can create meaningful results.
Seaham Youth & Community Centre's success is also a fantastic example for other organisations across the Community Connect network.
The formula isn't complicated: make your clothes bank visible, talk about it regularly and encourage your community to make donating unwanted clothes a habit.
The more people who know about the bank, the more clothing can be collected. And as those kilograms build, so does the fundraising total.
Most importantly, it creates a fundraising stream that can continue throughout the year rather than relying entirely on one-off events.
Reaching more than £3,900 is a milestone worth celebrating, but there's no reason it needs to stop there.
With two clothes banks, consistent promotion and an engaged local community, Seaham Youth & Community Centre has created a sustainable fundraising model that can continue supporting its work into the future.
A huge congratulations to everyone at the centre – and, of course, every person who has donated a bag of unwanted clothes along the way.
Nearly £4,000 raised. Thousands of unwanted items given another opportunity. And more funding going back into the local community.
That's exactly what Fundraise & Recycle is all about.
