MAYOR of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Brian Tierney, visited the Waterside Hospital on Friday to hand over some garden furniture made by the team at the New 2 You centre.
New 2 You is based in Pennyburn Recycling Centre and members of the public can drop off unwanted furniture or electrical items which are upcycled and refurbished by unemployed and disabled people training in trade skills.
The items are then sold at affordable prices in the New 2 You shop on site.
In a festive gesture to the residents and staff of the Waterside Hospital, the New 2 You team refurbished some spare wood from the Council’s Skeoge depot and turned it into a Santa train and furniture which will be used to brighten up the hospital garden.
Mayor Brian Tierney congratulated the New 2 You team for bringing festive fun to all at the Waterside Hospital after an extremely difficult year.
“I’m absolutely delighted to hand these items over which I know will bring great joy to everyone in the Waterside Hospital.
“It’s been such a challenging year for the staff as well as residents, and even the simple act of being able to spend a while outside and see the festive decorations and enjoy the new furniture will definitely lift their
spirits coming into Christmas.
He continued: “A huge well done to the team at New 2 You as well for their work on transforming some unwanted wood into these excellent artistic and well-made pieces.
“New 2 You is something that does so much good within our Council area, providing training and education for unemployed and disabled people, and also helping us to create a zero waste economy, an alternative to a disposable society by making repair education accessible, and to build a stronger, waste-free community and support vulnerable people within our city and district.”
Nuala Griffiths, Manager of New 2 You, said it was great to make a contribution to the Waterside Hospital who do so much good.
“It was a real pleasure to work on this project and we are so delighted that the items will be proudly on display in the garden of the Waterside Hospital for everyone to enjoy.
“This is just one of many projects we have taken on at New 2 You where we educate people who are unemployed and people with disabilities in repair and life skills, equipping them for the workplace. We offer participants a personal development plan supporting them and breaking down barriers to employment.
“Our team can learn about basic construction skills, careers in constructions, teamwork, healthy living and retail skills.
“Any members of the public who may have unwanted furniture or electrical items can drop it off with us, and we can work to give it a new lease of life.
“Our motto is donate, reduce, reuse, recycle, reskill, sell, and we take great pride and joy in learning and working hard together to transform an item that may seem useless into one that will be well-loved and well-used by somebody else.”
For more on New 2 You, visit: www.derrystrabane.com/new2you
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