Richmond Furniture Scheme’s aims are to provide affordable furniture, reduce waste and provide volunteering experience for the borough. In doing this, we have been working tremendously hard to use technology in a smart and affordable way.
The web shop is the culmination of work that started two and half years ago to develop a more integrated way of working. We wanted to simplify sales, reduce administration, improve Gift Aid process, and create a web shop integrated with our warehouse.
With the help of volunteers, in particular Trustee Derek Papworth, the Scheme created tools that manage donated items from the point of receipt through to the point of delivery. The process tracks Gift Aid available to claim for each item and we have a suite of reporting tools and applications that manage the administration.
In line with our aims, we built the web shop so that people in need (those with grants and on income support) can select furniture and arrange any payment necessary in person. The web shop also enables more people to access us without having to make the journey to Twickenham to see items in person.
If you would like to know more about the scheme (furniture donation, sales, reuse, recycling and volunteering), please see www.rfsonline.co.uk, call us during business hours 02087554665, email us at admin@rfsonline.co.uk, or, even better, visit us at 1a Fortescue Avenue, Twickenham, TW2 5LS.
