Community enterprise project awarded community funding from MRWA for second year

The Pre-Loved Project, part of Ascent Autism Specialist College, has been awarded community funding for the second year running.

The MRWA (Merseyside Waste and Recycling Authority) Community Fund aims to support eco-friendly and sustainable projects. For 2022/23 the total community fund pot was £165,000, with up to £120,000 set aside for large grants for projects in the Liverpool City Region area of up to £30,000 per project.

A further £45,000 was set aside, with £1,000 to a maximum of £8,00 for district projects. After submitting a thorough application, the Pre-Loved Project was awarded £8,000.

The funding will support several initiatives at Pre-Loved, including workshops where community members can learn new skills, helping them become more sustainable, and students at Ascent College can build their vocational skills in areas such as hospitality, horticulture and education.

In the application, Pre-Loved proposed the introduction of block workshops, where community members can book to attend a free series of three to five practical and informative workshops to build their skills in areas such as upcycling, horticulture, food waste and sustainable living.

In addition, single-session workshops will be available for drop-in and cover a range of topics and aim to support people to develop new skills, gain a deeper understanding of the processes, take more ownership and ultimately, become more environmentally friendly.

The single-session workshops will cover environmental awareness, furniture repairs, textile repairs, and eco-crafting. Within each of these areas, the sessions will delve deeper into specific subject areas including zero-waste kitchen swaps, zero-waste health and beauty swaps, hemming at home, simple repairs, repurposing textiles, and repairing damaged furniture.

As part of the Remarkable Autism Charity, the Pre-Loved Project works alongside Remarkable and its strands, Wargrave House School, Ascent Autism Specialist College and Sundial Therapy Services.

Students at the school and college can visit Pre-Loved regularly to take part in sessions and activities, helping them upskill across several areas.

CEO at Remarkable Autism, Robin Bush, said: “We are thrilled to be awarded funding for the second year running from Merseyside Waste and Recycling Authority.

“Last year’s funding helped create the Pre-Loved Project as it is today, a hub for the local community to come together and learn new skills to become more sustainable.

“We wanted to be able to reach even more people and offer more opportunities to attend workshops at Pre-Loved, and this funding will help us do that. Pre-Loved Project is committed to helping build a brighter, more sustainable future for everyone, and I look forward to seeing the project come to life in the coming months.”