Social Enterprise wins £30,000 for RePaint Project
Forest Recycling Project (FRP), a not for profit social enterprise, based in Walthamstow, East London and part of the London Re-use Network has won £30,000 from the Santander Social Enterprise Development Award scheme which will enable them to expand their innovative RePaint project across London.
The London Re-use Network is made up of re-use projects, including charities, that work together to collect, repair and sell unwanted furniture, appliances and household items, giving them new homes across London.
As part of the network, one of FRP’s projects is to collect unwanted, leftover paint and redistribute it to local authorities, registered providers of social housing, schools, art groups, community groups and individuals.
Charles Craft, Managing Director of London Re-use Limited (LRL) who manages the London Re-use Network said: “We are delighted that FRP have won this award. It will really help us raise the profile of paint re-use and the savings people can make by re-using leftover paint. The funding from Santander can be used as match funding to enable FRP to access an additional £75,000 through the LRL re-use investment programme. FRP are leading the way on the RePaint project and the other London Re-use Network members can benefit from their expertise and skills in this area. This will ultimately allow us to expand the project across more areas of London and ensure that more Londoners have access to free or low cost re-usable paint”.
FRP will additionally benefit from two years of support from Santander, enabling them to further develop into a robust and sustainable social enterprise providing jobs, volunteering and training opportunities to local people.
FRP was one out of three award winners for the London region. Carlos Portela, Managing Director, Santander Corporate Banking London and Chair of the judging panel, said: “The three social enterprises that we have chosen all demonstrated an outstanding business model and clearly outlined how the awards would help their organisations to grow. Already the three winners have made vital contributions to their local communities and by winning the awards they will be able to build on these solid foundations and develop their enterprises to continue to make a difference across London. We very much look forward to seeing their progress.”