First established in 2019, Community Bees is a York-based Community Interest Company dedicated to supporting some of the most marginalised people living in and around our city. Community Bees offers a safe, non-judgemental space for people facing isolation due to bereavement, illness, or other life circumstances. It is primarily committed to supporting hoarders in decluttering their living spaces, building confidence, improving their health and wellbeing, and regaining independence.
Kathy Brown, Fundraiser at Community Bees, said: “We help people with serious mental health issues that have led to hoarding. Our referrals come from the hospital, doctors’ surgeries and social services. We are a not-for-profit company and have helped over 1,000 people over the last 7 years.” From its welcoming Hub & Shop in Clifton Moor, Community Bees sells a plethora of pre-loved items recovered during hoarder clean-ups, from clothes, records, books and vintage finds to board games, jewellery and assorted bric-a-brac. Whether you’re a keen charity shopper on the lookout for bargain finds, an avid collector looking for hidden treasure, or are simply looking for a new way to put your pennies towards a good local cause, the Community Bees Hub & Shop is the ideal place to put your money where your mouth is! Kathy was also keen to point out that, aside from the usual donated items available to pick up in the shop, any electrical items recovered during clean-outs are refurbished, put to good use and redistributed to those in need within the local community: “We PAT test and reuse the electricals in our Acts of Kindness or sell them in our unit at Clifton Moor.”
Community Bees offers support to local people in need via regular face-to-face contact, purposeful activities, and a packed programme of varied events to combat isolation running each month; these range from community drop-ins and get-togethers (including welcoming Afternoon Tea meetings) to Acts of Kindness giveaways and Shop That Talks events in local supermarkets, as well as wider fundraising events that anyone and everyone is welcome to attend; Kathy said: “As we receive no funding, we are constantly fundraising to ensure we can continue to deliver. On Tuesday, 8 December, we have a joint venture with York University Students to use the clothes from our unit and transform them to enable them to put on a Clothes Show and Catwalk. There will also be a raffle to raise funds.”
The Community Bees Hub & Shop is located at 1 Auster Road, Clifton Moor Industrial Estate, YO30 4XD. Visit www.communitybees.co.uk to find out more about Community Bees CIC, or www.communitybees.co.uk/support-us/volunteer/ to apply as a volunteer.
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