The Masonic Charitable Foundation has donated £30,000 over three years to support Groundworks Charity’s Rework Project to train unemployed people in repairing domestic appliances to be sold by charities.

Groundwork London is a social and environmental regeneration charity. For almost 20 years they have been at the forefront of environmental and social regeneration in London; changing places and lives for the better, in some of the capital’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. In today’s challenging social and economic climate, the work they do has never been more important.

Their three over-arching objectives are:
1. Creating better places; supporting people to work collectively to make their surroundings greener, safer and healthier and be actively involved in the way decisions are made about services in their area.
2. Promoting greener living and working; helping people and businesses learn more about their environmental impact and act responsibly to reduce natural resource use and improve their health.
3. Improving people’s prospects; delivering support to increase the confidence, skills, well-being and employability of those furthest removed from the labour market, particularly young people. The charity’s REWORK project restores furniture and white goods at one of the UK’s best-equipped domestic appliance repair workshops. Through the project, items that otherwise would be sent to landfill sites are instead returned to full working order and given a new lease of life.

The workshop, based at the Smugglers Way waste transfer station in Wandsworth, South West London, employs people who have been on long-term job seekers allowance and trains them in electrical engineering and maintenance.

Last year, the project’s 29 paid trainees refurbished and sold over 4,500 domestic appliances and 2,700 items of furniture. The repaired items are then provided for re-sale through charity shops in London and across the country, thus raising much needed funds. Some are also donated free of charge to those families on low incomes who otherwise would not be able to afford the basic appliances that most of us take for granted.

Ben Coles, director at GROUNDWORK London, said “We’re very grateful to London Freemasons for their generous grant which will help us continue giving people the skills to find jobs in the capital’s growing retrofit sector. The project is a great example of Groundwork London tackling unemployment while protecting the environment.