Our Hanley charity store Emmaus Furniture Mine has received a generous donation of furniture worth more than £5,000 from local developer the Dog and Bone Group.

The store raises funds to help local people move away from poverty. We partner with housing associations, supplying free furniture to those unable to afford it. Our charity also plans to set up a community for formerly homeless people in Stoke-on-Trent. The accommodation will offer a home, work experience, daily support and funded training to rebuild lives, and will be the first of its kind in the county.

Stoke-on-Trent business the Dog and Bone Group runs the Potbank Hotel, Lymedale Hotel and the Carlton Estate student accommodation. The donation consists of hundreds of items of mainly flatpack furniture, including beds and wardrobes, left behind by a former commercial tenant.

Speaking about the donation, business owner Jeff Nash said: “This is good quality brand new furniture and it was designed for use in typical Stoke terraces. We were not able to use it ourselves, so I am really glad it has gone to a good home. We’ve had a long association with Emmaus and the Furniture Mine and I would urge anyone who is having a post-Covid clearout to consider recycling furniture with them in this way – we know Emmaus will find a good use and suitable recipients for any furniture that still has some life in it.”

Emmaus Furniture Mine is temporarily closed due to the national lockdown, but this generous donation has helped to lift the spirits of our team. Social distancing measures and restrictions during the pandemic have made it difficult to collect furniture from people’s properties, so to receive so many items is the perfect gift.

Many of the items will go on sale in our store when we’re able to reopen, and some will be passed on to those who need it most. We’d like to thank the Dog and Bone Group for thinking of our charity; it means the world to us when local businesses recognise the work we do and want to help us.

Emmaus Furniture Mine, on Cannon Place, is the largest furniture and household charity shop in North Staffordshire, with a 17,000sqft shop and warehouse over two floors. It is temporarily closed, with plans to reopen from April 12th if government regulations allow.