Craven Arms Charity bookshop volunteers supported by The Furniture Scheme
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Our final volunteer instalment for this year's Volunteers' Week celebrates husband and wife team, Jim and Kris Tipton, who help to run The Charity Bookshop in Craven Arms.
The shop was saved from closure three years ago with the help of The Furniture Scheme, which is a leading Social Enterprise in Shropshire, and part of the Wrekin Housing Group.
Jim and Kris, who are both retired, are among a group of 30 volunteers who work together to run the small independent shop, which sells a range of books.
Kris said: “I love books and always have done, so the shop is the perfect voluntary work for me to feed my tremendous love of books. I also enjoy engaging with other people, so this is a very sociable role.”
The Rockspring Community Centre in Ludlow is also operated by The Furniture Scheme. Every Thursday the centre holds a community lunch and mother and daughter team, Linda and Anita Breakwell, have been volunteering in the kitchen for around three years.
Linda said: “We love coming in and helping out. We help lay the tables, prepare the food, serving, and then wash up afterwards. It’s hard work, but it has given us more confidence as we get to meet and talk to people and generally having a laugh.”
Look out for Kris and Jim in our video on the Trust's social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.
7th June 2019