Jeanette Gaul from Angus Upcycling Project tells us how a 'Come on in' micro-grant from Creative Lives helped the group host an open day, show the public what they do, and encourage new volunteers to join them.

"Angus Upcycling Project is a small but efficient charity. We upcycle small pieces of furniture which are donated by members of the public when they no longer need them. 

Our aim is to reuse as many items as possible, and so far we have managed to reuse 95% of the items donated to us with the other 5% sadly going to the recycling centre.

We have also undertaken work for members of the public who may want to keep their item but would like it refreshed. We sell our upcycled items at low affordable prices to those in need, those on low incomes, and those starting up a home.

We have a clothing bank, items are again donated by members of the public and are provided to those who require them. We also provide food to those needing it, through our local connections as well as people contacting us on our Facebook page.

Our project recently moved premises due to our previous landlord selling the place we rented, so we decided to hold an open day. It was well attended by members of the public and gave us a chance to let people see the work we do, the items we take in, and chat to our volunteers.

We used the funding from our micro-grant to advertise the event in our local paper a couple of times, along with a bit about us. We also advertised in the local shops through posters we had printed. The grant also went towards the cost of refreshments on the day.

During the open day, we managed to recruit three new volunteers, which will be a big help to us over the next few months as a lot of our stock was purchased so we now need to replenish it.

We would like to thank Creative Lives for the funding which helped make our open day possible."