Kerry Davies of the Leofric Lions hands a cheque to Crow Recycling's Lucy Lynch A big thank you to the Leofric Lions Club from Crow Recycling for a £200 donation. The cash came from the amount raised by the club at a series of fundraising events during the year. The most high profile were the Coventry Walkathon and the Donkey Derby. Crow was one of a number of good causes to benefit. Here at  Crow we get come of our income from commercial activities such as confidential document shredding but we rely on generous donors such as the Leofric Lions to keep going from year to year. Thank you again to the Leofric Lions.

BBC Coventry and Warwickshire presenter Vic Minett with Crow Recycling Scrapstore manager Lauren Dunn The Crow Recycling Scrapstore was on air on Monday morning. Lauren Dunn, who runs the Scrapstore, and Lucy Lynch who organises school visits, were guests on the mid morning Vic Minnet show. Lauren talked about reusable and recyclable gift wrapping to kick off the show's week of features on the theme of home made Christmas. Lucy talked about the school visits hosted by Crow and paper and can recycling operations. Vic even had time to pose for a quick picture with Lauren after the interview.

Necklace made by Scrapstore volunteer A new volunteer has joined the Crow Scrapstore team showcasing our jewellery supplies. We asked her to browse through the jewellery supplies counter and see what she could make. She came up with these lovely creations perfect for a not from the high street Christmas present. She used chain, beads, nylon, pendants, presentation boxes and jewellery findings all available from the Scrapstore. Jewellery made from Scrapstore supplies The volunteer used her own cutting tool and pliers. We don't sell these at the Scrapstore. Anyone who would like to make jewellery with Scrapstore supplies can pop in during opening hours Mondays to Thursdays 9.30am to 3.30pm or Fridays 9.30am to 12.30pm. Or people can drop in at our pre Christmas Saturday opening on November 30 from 10am to 2pm. To shop at the Scrapstore people must pay a £10 annual membership.  

We have updated our data and privacy policies. The way we process Scrapstore membership data is changing so we have updated our data and privacy policies accordingly. We are using a customer relationship management system to store member contact details and send e mails about holiday shutdowns and Saturday openings. We will also be using it to send newsletters to those who would like to receive them. Read the updated policies here. If you have any questions about how we use Scrapstore membership data please contact us at crow@talktalkbusiness.net.

Cake sale planned A cake sale will raise money for bus fares for volunteers at the Crow Recycling Scrapstore opening on November 30. Occasionally people come to visit keen to volunteer but struggling to find the bus fares to reach us. Funding from charitable trusts for bus fares is hard to find. So we're having a cake sale to kick start our volunteer bus fare fund. Volunteers sort and shred waste paper along with sorting, crushing and baling used drinks cans to keep Crow up and running. Most of our volunteers are disabled. The Scrapstore, normally only open weekdays, will be open on Saturday November 30 from 10am to 2pm. Visit for ideas on how to to put the wow factor in Christmas without depleting the planet's resources. There will be gift wrap, card making materials and decorations on sale at bargain prices all donated for reuse. The Scrapstore is a member only shop with annual membership at £10. Crow Recycling is a registered charity set up in 1985 to provide work placements for disabled people.

Crow Scrapstore Inspiration for a greener Christmas is at the centre of the Crow Recycling Scrapstore Saturday opening. The Scrapstore is having a Saturday opening on November 30 from 10am to 2pm. Making presents look beautiful, creating home made cards, decorating the house and packing up presents to post don't cost the earth because the Scrapstore sells waste materials donated to reuse for arts and crafts. People are asked to bring their membership cards or pay the £10 annual membership fee on the day to choose from a host of arts and crafts supplies for a creative Christmas. Scrapstore development worker Lauren Dunn said: "Join us for our Saturday opening and use your creativity to put the wow factor into Christmas without depleting the planet's valuable resources." For wrapping presents the Scrapstore sells fabric scraps, which can be reused, and brown recyclable paper to decorate. They both work as alternatives to shiny wrapping paper which can't be recycled and has to be burnt in an incinerator or sent to a landfill site. To make your house look festive there are second hand Christmas decorations.  Card making supplies include paper, card, kits, punches, stamps and back copies of card making magazines. Those with relatives far away can buy bargain padded envelopes for posting presents. The usual Scrapstore supplies will also be on sale including wool, thread, fabric pieces, fabric off the roll, hula hoops, long cardboard tubes, jewellery making supplies, mounting boards, zips and buttons. The Scrapstore is part of Crow Recycling at Orchard House, Sparkbrook Street, Hillfields, Coventry, CV1 5LB. Tel 02476552444. Crow Recycling is a registered charity set up in 1985 to provide work placements for disabled people.

  Educational visits to Crow now cost £30 per class. The charity's trustees made the decision to charge for the visits, previously free, after grant funding for educational projects came to an end. Education development worker Lucy Lynch said: "It's disappointing to have to start charging but our grant funding ran out and was not renewed. By charging approximately £1 per pupil for a full class visit we can continue offering visits for the rest of the autumn term and hopefully the spring and summer terms as well." Crow Recycling offers visits of 45 minutes to an hour for up to one class at a  time during Coventry school terms. Pupils have chance to help sort paper ready for recycling, sort cans and see the Crow aluminium can crushing machine in action. They also find out how we shred and bale documents to recycle or use as animal bedding. Schools bringing three or more classes in the same term will be offered a discount depending on how many classes are coming. For more information about school visits contact Crow on 02476552444 or e mail crow@talktalkbusiness.net.    

  Crow Recycling will be closing for an autumn shutdown from lunch time on Friday October 18 to the morning of Monday October 28. The shutdown is at the same time as the Coventry school half term. Customers for confidential shredding and non confidential paper collections will be given extra bags ahead of the shutdown. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Good quality second hand clothes are on sale at Crow ideal for people who have signed up to Oxfam's Second Hand September. The garments are on display in the Crow Recycling entrance hall at just £1 each for Scrapstore members. Second Hand September was launched by Oxfam and is backed by Vogue model Stella Tennant. The charity is asking people to buy clothes second hand rather than new during September to preserve the planet's scarce resources. Click here to read Scrapstore development worker Lauren Dunn's top tips for bagging stylish bargains during Second Hand September. The Crow Recycling Scrapstore is at Orchard House, Sparkbrook Street, Hillfields, Coventry CV1 5LB. Scrapstore opening times are Mondays to Thursdays 9.30am to 3pm and Fridays 9.30am to 12 noon.