We are working with Manchester City Council to help reduce the amount of furniture and household items that are wasted by being sent to landfill.

Here is the council press release and links for more info:

Charity boss calls for furniture reuse

The boss of a Manchester charity is backing a Manchester City Council campaign asking residents to donate unwanted furniture.

The City Council’s waste and recycling team is working with the Ancoats-based Mustard Tree homeless charity to draw attention to the thousands of old beds, wardrobes and sofas which are thrown away every year – most of which end up on the tip.

To draw attention to this the City Council has now created a portable living room, made up of furniture that has been thrown away by Manchester residents, which will travel the city next week.

The ‘room’ will be based on Chorlton precinct on Wilbraham Road on Wednesday August 11, and outside Asda on Harpurhey High Street the following day, with representatives from the recycling team and charities such as the Mustard Tree on hand to provide information.

Paul Wenham, chief executive of the Mustard Tree, based on Oldham Road, said donations were essential to helping homeless people, and they provided furniture for more than 1,500 individuals last year.

The charity can collect from anywhere in Greater Manchester within four days, and will go into houses to make collections.

He said: “Furniture which some people would consider ready for the tip can make a huge difference to people who have been living in a hostel or on the street and are moving into a new home.

“It may seem like a small thing, but it makes the difference from somewhere being an empty shell to it being a home they can feel proud of. As long as it’s clean and in good condition we’ll take it and we offer a free collection service from anywhere in Greater Manchester.”

Councillor David Royle, Manchester City Council’s Assistant Executive Member for the Environment, said: “A lot of good items of furniture are thrown away every year, ending up on landfill sites, and these could easily be reused by many of the city’s charities who now need these items more than ever.”

Anyone who has items of furniture they think can be re-used should contact The Mustard Tree on 0161 228 7331 or the City Council’s Environment On Call on 0161 954 9000. There is also further information on the Council’s website at www.manchester.gov.uk/recycling

Mustard Tree ladies, Lucile Lingerie and Bosom Buddies are planning a evening of luxury and pampering for homeless and vulnerable women across Great Manchester.  The date has been set for 30th September and will be a ladies only evening (other than some well behaved waiters!).

After collecting well over 2000 bras and counting, we thought it would be a good way to fit and distribute the collected bras to those in need.  We are also inviting the kind ladies who have donated their bras over the last weeks to join us.

For more details contact Lydia – lydia@mustardtree.co.uk or on 0161 228 7331.

The extremely talented artist Graham Hudson was back on the airwaves this morning, chatting with BBC Radio Manchester’s Heather Stott.  Graham does a great job of telling a bit of his story and about his experiences in Mexico.   It is well worth a listen.  To hear the interview click on the link below and go to 1 hour, 9 minutes and 20 seconds in.

Graham on BBC Radio Manchester

MANCHESTER’S GIFTED EX HOMELESS MAN HELPS

MEXICO’S DEPRIVED CHILDEN

When ex homeless Graham Hudson from Manchester, 48, was offered the chance to take his artistic skills to Mexico and teach deprived children, he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Thanks to the continued support provided by Manchester based charity for the homeless, The Mustard Tree, Graham was given the chance to spend two weeks in poverty stricken Armonia Mexico teaching art classes to children aged between four and 15.

Armonia was founded in 1897 in one of the poorest communities in Mexico City, the Jalapa ravine, a violent and impoverished neighbourhood to the west of the city.  Armonia now has three community centres in urban and suburban settings, as well as working with native students in the mountains of the Sierra Norte in the south of the country.

Graham said: “There are over 100 people involved in the Armonia project and I was delighted to be a part of it.  The purpose of my trip was to help the children express themselves freely through art.  I was one of 17 artists from Manchester that went to Mexico and it was an incredible experience seeing how the use of vibrant colours bought so much joy into the lives of these children.  There was a real sense of community spirit.

“I primarily funded the trip myself by selling my works of art and it has been a life changing experience for me.  Previously I had considered myself as a bit of an amateur but my travel to Mexico has given me the confidence to take my art more seriously.  The personal satisfaction I got from being able to help Armonia’s deprived children has inspired me to continue teaching and I am planning another trip there next year.”

Graham was introduced to The Mustard Tree when he became homeless himself in 2008. The charity has since helped him rebuild his life and provides ongoing support.

Paul Wenham, CEO at The Mustard Tree, commented: “Graham is extremely talented and we knew by giving him this opportunity to help others would give him extra confidence to believe in his already successful art.  Graham is also heavily involved in teaching art classes to marginalised people at our premises in Ancoats, Manchester.”

—–Ends—-

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Mustard Tree celebrated its 15^th year in 2009 and continues to help homeless and marginalised people of Manchester, providing food, clothing, furniture, training and friendship with the help of donations and volunteers.

Graham’s work can be viewed at The Mustard Tree premises in Ancoats, Manchester, or see the website for more details: www.mustardtree.co.uk.

The Mustard Tree is a registered charity no 1044349.

For more details see www.mustardtree.co.uk or email nada@nadapr.com.

Become a regular donator to The Mustard Tree. Just £10 feeds a homeless person for a week. To donate money, visit www.mustardtree.co.uk, or call 0161 228 7331.

To read the Mustard Tree’s latest newsletter please click on the link below:

Mustard Tree Summer Newsletter 2010

If you have any questions, comments or want to talk about anything relating to this newsletter feel free to call 0161 228 7331, we’ll do our best to answer any queries.

As ever our huge thanks go to Maria for all her amazing hard work and time given so generously in putting this together, to Creative Lynx for their many years of support, for designing and polishing our newsletters and a special thanks for this edition to Danny and the team at Gyroscope for kindly providing free printing.   Our working alongside the homeless and marginalised in Manchester is facilitated by the often unseen generosity and effort of many individuals, companies, organisations and churches across the city.

THANK YOU!