2025-12-31-accounts

Reuse and Thrive Trustees’ Annual Report

2025

Charity contact information

Reuse and Thrive

Scottish Charity Number: SC049977

148 Main Street

East Calder

EH53 0HD

07791 524504

[e-mail]

@reuseandthrive

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Charity Trustees

1. Michelle Herron (Chair)

2. Sally Ross

3. Kennerty Brown

4. Chris Mitchell

5. Aileen O’Toole

6. Zoe Roberts

Summary

We are delighted to report that 2025 has been a strong year for us.

Our Community Shop continues to have a reputation as a place to come to buy excellent quality secondhand goods and to have a chat with one of our lovely volunteers.

The size of our volunteer group remains unchanged at 33 with some people moving on to other things and new people joining us. We continue to have a very strong team of volunteers who have been with us from the beginning and who welcome new volunteers with open arms.

While a number of our volunteers are older adults we have continued to work with young people this year, giving them work experience and life skills,

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We have taken part in training events and have run our first craft class this year, with more planned for 2026.

We have joined the Circular Communities Scotland network and have attended their 2025 conference and plan to continue to be involved in this network as our knowledge and capacity in relation to being part of a circular economy grows.

Thanks to the financial success of our Community Shop we have continued to be able to donate a substantial amount of money to local organisations

Objectives and activities

1. The prevention and relief of poverty

Providing free clothing and home starter packs to people living in poverty or experiencing homelessness (through referrals from West Lothian Council and West Lothian Food Bank and local churches)

What we have achieved:

• Provided school and after-school clothing to West Lothian School Bank for use in packs for young people from low-income families across West Lothian, providing them with the necessary clothes and resources to attend school. Bought both new clothing and donated nearly new items received into community shop.

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• Donations of prom outfits, shoes and bags to West Lothian Council.

• Donations to several West Lothian schools of jigsaws and books.

• Made regular donations of high-quality clothing to RiverKids for distribution to families in need. We have made deliveries to them approximately every two weeks. We have made available children's clothes and toys as well as adult clothes and household items. RiverKids give these items to their

• beneficiaries who have been referred to them via other local organisations.

• Bathroom products donated to local care home plus made knee blankets.

• Donated odd balls of wool given to local resident who knits blankets.

• Bric-a-brac donations were given to Mid Calder Toddler group and all local Gala Committees as raffle prizes for their relevant fundraisers.

• Several local nurseries received items for their outdoor play areas together with age-appropriate books.

• Books donated to Bellsquarry Community Library.

• Provision of ‘one pot’ food bags during the winter months providing all ingredients to make soup for 2 with a sweet treat for afters.

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• Donated small suitcases to support immigrant community

• members to transport their belongings into their first property.

Providing voluntary work experience for unemployed and disabled people (primarily through referrals from the local Job Centre) What we have achieved:

• Provided work experience for three young people who are undertaking various awards including Duke of Edinburgh and King’s Badge, including individuals who are looking to gain work and retail experience.

• Provided volunteer opportunities for 33 adults, who volunteer with us regularly, delivering over 2000 volunteer hours. Some of the volunteers are older members of our community and working with us reduces their social isolation and allows them to share their valuable skills. Some of our volunteers have poor mental health and working with us has helped them connect with others in the volunteer group and the community, adding to improvements in their overall wellbeing.

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The advancement of citizenship or community development.

Through community engagement to identify local needs and support our community to take action to address them.

Engaging with local schools and community groups to support the delivery of projects which help to achieve this purpose, for example involvement in community litter picks, inter-generational coffee mornings, sharing information etc.

Supporting local charitable groups financially with proceeds from the retail shop.

What we have achieved:

• Listening to local community groups and what they need and aligned our offering to suit. e.g. providing goods that their service users need and providing money to support their activities.

• Our schools and community engagement has this year been predominantly through donations. An example would be providing funds so that pupils on low incomes can attend school outings and parties without financial stigma. This was identified as a need by our local primary schools.

• We engage with one another as a community of volunteers by meeting regularly both in person and on Zoom to ensure all have a voice in shaping what we do. We also have two volunteer social events each year, one in the summer and one around Christmas time.

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We have donated monies to local organisations that align with our charitable aims as detailed below, individual amounts can be seen in our submitted accounts.

our submitted accounts.
Calderwood Primary	x
Christmas Bags - East Calder Church	x
Christmas Tree for Sheltered Housing	x
DignityBoxes	x
East Calder Primary	x
Forget Me Not Café	x
Held in our Hearts	x
Home Aid West Lothian	x
Kirknewton Primary	x
Mark Begg- Local Wildlife	x
Warm Hub -East Calder Church	x
West Lothian Food Bank	x
West Lothian Girlguiding	x
West Lothian Ridingfor the disabled	x
West Lothian School Bank	x
West Lothian Womens Aid	x
	£6,229

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Signposting through the provision of community information and wider resources e.g. what’s on in the village’, Home Aid leaflets, Mental Health support groups.

What we have achieved:

• In our Community Shop we have displays of community information, leaflets and contact cards for local services and other charitable enterprises.

• Many of our volunteers have formed good relationships with regular customers in our community shop and are able to

provide signposting guidance in person where appropriate.

The advancement of education

Through the provision of regular free classes and workshops in upcycling, reusing, and recycling.

What we have achieved:

• Joined Circular Communities Scotland and attended the conference in Nov 2025 to connect with likeminded organisations focused on supporting communities through sustainable practices.

• As a result of a conversation at the above conference, we had a visit from a project worker at Linlithgow Development Trusts who gave us a talk on how they have developed a range of circular economy projects in their area. Here is a photo of some of us at that very insightful session.

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• We have at last had our first craft class which we ran as a pilot for some of our volunteers. This was one of our very talented volunteers showing us how to make Christmas gift boxes and homemade gifts. Much fun was had by all.

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Other Achievements

• Saved over 1327 kg of clothing, unfit for sale via textile recycling and approximately twice as much from our shop sales from reaching land fill.

• When the weather allows, we have a ‘free’ table outside our Community Shop allowing community members to take what they might find useful, reducing waste to land fill.

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Structure, governance and management.

Type of governing document

We are a SCIO governed by our Constitution dated and approved by OSCR on 21 February 2020. We have an appointed board of Trustees and a team of volunteers.

Trustee recruitment and appointment

Adverts are posted on social media and our website, we also take referrals from our existing volunteers, for individuals with suitable skills and experience. Potential Trustees are interviewed by two sitting Trustees. Shortlisted candidates have references taken up and appointments confirmed on receipt of acceptable references.

No external organisations are involved in the appointment of Trustees. We aim to have a diverse board with the right mix of skills and experience.

Financial review

Statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

The Trustees agree to have sufficient funds to meet their liabilities as they fall due. The Trustees aim to always have three months’ operational costs in the bank. This will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and reported at board meetings. If funds in hand are less than the forecasted costs for the next three months, then action will be taken by the Trustees to address the situation. This is noted and agreed in a written policy.

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Details of any deficit

We concluded the year with a deficit of £2592, this was well covered by current reserves and did not impact on our 3 month contingency monies in the bank.

Donated facilities and services

We have benefited from over 2000 hours of volunteer/volunteer Trustee time which has been instrumental in getting us to this point. We have received no grants or donations in this period.

Future plans

We plan to continue to build on the strong year we have had this year, doing more of what we have started to do and increasing our inperson engagement with our community and if finances allow increase our financial support to organisations that align with our charitable aims.

Support enhancement of community spaces such as flower beds and seating areas both through practical volunteer input and funding contractors to do work that is beyond our volunteer skill set.

We plan to provide training sessions and knowledge sharing opportunities to upskill community members in repurposing and reusing items that would otherwise go to landfill either directly or collaboratively through our network. We already have an on-line class on textile recycling in the diary for Jan 2026.

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Additional information

We continue to be indebted to our Trustees and volunteers for their engagement, hard work and flexibility. We are very much looking forward to continuing our work in 2026.

Declaration

Signed on behalf of the charity Trustees:

Print name – Michelle Herron

Designation - CHAIR

Date – 16th March 2026

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