Part of a large recent fabric donation The Crow Recycling Scrapstore will be open on Saturday February 12 from 10am to 1pm. Thanks to a generous corporate donation there will be a large variety of fabric to choose from. Once the Scrapstore annual membership of £10 is paid fabric on the roll is only £1.50 per metre, sample books are from £1 to £2.50 per metre and larger and scraps and remnants between 50p and £3 each. Anyone planning a home made Valentine card for the special person in their life can buy patterned and plain card, card making stamps and back copies of craft magazines full of ideas. That's as well as all the usual wool, haberdashery, paint, pencils, crayons, paper, craft books, jewellery making supplies and embroidery thread. And of course the odds and ends all second hand shops get given that sometimes turn out to be just the thing someone had been looking for. Everything on sale is being reused so none of it costs the earth whether in cash or the planet's resources. The Scrapstore is an annual membership shop with membership at £10 for individuals or organisations. More information here.  

Christmas bows The Christmas and new year holidays are almost here. Crow Recycling  is closing at the end of the day on Thursday December 23 and reopening at 9am on Tuesday January 4. There will be a three day closure in January for staff and volunteer training. Crow will be closed on Monday January 10, Tuesday January 11 and Wednesday January 12 to give key staff and volunteers chance to complete training courses. Have a good break and a happy new year.

Artist Janet Tryner with her art work at the entrance to the Crow Recycling warehouse An art work in bright autumn colours is cheering up the entrance to Crow Recycling thanks to the Coventry City of Culture artist on my street scheme. Artist Janet Tryner visited Crow to create the leaf themed work in the windows at the front of the Crow Recycling warehouse in Sparkbrook Street, Hillfields, Coventry. The work even features a black Crow honouring the acronym Coventry Recycling of Waste from which Crow Recycling gets its name. The artwork is part of the artist on my street scheme which involves 21 artists creating artworks in windows in streets in Coventry and Warwickshire. The art works are funded by Coventry City of Culture. Lucy Lynch, Crow Recycling's admin and external relations officer, said: "Not many warehouses have a piece of art created for them so we're really pleased. If you're visiting Crow or dropping in at the Love Coventry second hand shop next door or the Hope Centre cafe at the top of the street make sure to take a look at the art work while you're there." Some of the materials in the art work came from Crow Recycling's Scrapstore, a membership shop selling reused items for arts and crafts. Crow Recycling is a registered charity providing work placements for people with disabilities. Other artist in my street locations to look out for are the Broad Street Hall in Foleshill, Coventry,  and the Moat Street Leisure and Neighbourhood Centre in Wood End, Coventry.  

At Crow Recycling we're helping restore some normality to the lives of our volunteers after they were turned upside down by Coronavirus. Our volunteers have a range of disabilities taking in learning difficulties, medical conditions and autism. For our volunteers the periods of restrictions were an isolating experience. For some periods of restrictions Crow closed and for others Crow stayed open but volunteers were sent home for their safety.  Some while at home were not able to see relatives, social events came to an abrupt end and for a few  usual carers had to shield. Lives are getting back to normal again and coming back to Crow is part of that. Volunteering for one, two or three days a week provides routine plus the social elements of work. Crow Recycling was set up in 1985 to provide work placements for disabled people.  Some of Crow’s volunteers are here for a short time and move on to more demanding placements or a paid job.  Others are with Crow long term appreciating the supportive environment we provide. As infections fall Crow is returning to offering short term placements to school pupils with special needs getting their first taste of life in the work place.  

Going freelance brings so many major challenges it is easy to overlook the mundane aspects of going it alone. Freelances usually list finding work and then charging the right price for their work as their two biggest challenges.  Once the work is done chasing late payers need to be done effectively to ensure the success of the venture. Giving short shrift to people who expect freelancers to work unpaid is another important but usually unwelcome task for new starters. At Crow Recycling we can give freelance customers chance to concentrate on these priorities by helping to take care of confidential document destruction. Confidential information takes in  paperwork including a person’s name, personal e mail address whether work or home account, personal phone number or personal postal address. The first step is to write a data retention plan listing how long each type of personal data needs to be kept. Once that has been done Crow’s shredding machines can destroy everything that has been kept as long as needed. Crow can do one off or regular collections from Coventry and Warwickshire. For some customers bringing confidential waste to our warehouse is a better option. We can collect confidential waste or accept confidential waste at our warehouse Mondays to Wednesdays. For more information e mail info@crowrecycling.co.uk or ring 02476552444. We also collect non confidential paper which is sorted and sent to a paper mill for recycling. Crow is a registered charity set up to provide work placements for disabled people.

If employees are coming back to the office the chances are the waste paper is back too. At Crow Recycling we can do one off or regular collections of confidential waste paper. Crow can collect the waste from businesses in the Coventry and Warwickshire area, bring it back to the warehouse in Hillfields and destroy it by shredding. Crow can also collect non confidential waste paper. At Crow warehouse the paper is sorted and sent to a paper mill for recycling. Crow is a registered charity providing work placements for disabled people.

The Scrapstore is open on Monday August 2 after our summer shutdown and appointments are no longer needed. The Scrapstore is open 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Wednesday from Monday August 2. Appointments are no longer needed but we are asking members to continue wearing face masks when they visit. Anyone who feels safer as the only customer, household or bubble in the Scrapstore can ring or e mail to make an appointment for a visit between 8.30am and 9.30am before the Scrapstore opens. The fill a bin bag for £5 from downstairs promotion for Scrapstore members is still running so don't forget to bring a bin bag. Annual membership remains at £10. Please bring your membership card if you are a member.  

Part-time Van Driver Wanted. Crow recycling requires a van driver to collect cans and paper for processing and to deliver bales of shredded paper and bales of crushed cans to customers, mainly in the Coventry and Warwickshire areas. The role requires a reasonable level of physical fitness, reliability, good organisational skills and accurate record keeping. Hours: 0830 to 1600 hours (including breaks), Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Salary: £10,500 per annum. Note: As Crow Recycling is a registered charity working with individuals with learning disabilities, this post is subject to completion of DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks. To apply e mail at CV and covering letter to Bill Smith, chairman of trustees, Crow Recycling, Sparkbrook Street, Hillfields, Coventry CV1 5LB. Closing date Friday Friday July 2 2021. Crow Recycling is on 02476552444  

Crow Scrapstore   SCRAPSTORE DEVELOPMENT WORKER  Hours:  Nine hours per week to include:  Three weekday three hour shifts during school hours eg 10am to 1pm  On one week every month one of the weekday shifts will be changed to a Saturday shift  Salary: £4,680 per year  Start date: July 2021    Job description:  1 Overseeing the Scrapstore including serving customers and maintaining membership records  2 Promoting the Scrapstore on local media and on social media  3 Introducing card payments to the Scrapstore  4 Recruiting and training volunteers to help in the Scrapstore  5 Introducing Saturday openings once a month    Essential for the post  1 Retail experience  2 Qualification in art or enthusiasm for hobby crafting  Desirable for the post  1 Ability to run craft workshops  The post will be confirmed subject to satisfactory references and a Disclosure and Barring Service check    CV and letters of application to be sent to Bill Smith, chairman of Crow Trustees, Orchard House, Sparkbrook Street, Hillfields, Coventry CV1 5LB e mail info@crowrecycling.co.uk   

The Scrapstore is open again. We're open Mondays to Wednesdays 9.30am to 3.30pm. We're asking people to make appointments because the Scrapstore is too small for social distancing. The membership fee is still £10  for the year and it's a member only shop. Drop us a line at info@crowrecycling.co.uk to make an appointment.