Portsmouth charity behind Repair Cafe and Cascades Shopping Centre Library of Things wins £5,000 grant

Share (Portsmouth) landed the climate and environment Movement for Good Award, from financial services conglomorate the Benefact Group, following a wave of public support. Share (Portsmouth), run by Clare Seek, operates the Repair Cafe and Library of Things from its hub – opened earlier this year – in Cascades Shopping Centre. The volunteer-led enterprise allows people to borrow seldom-used items and get broken possessions fixed by experts.

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According to Benefact Group, the projects have already helped Portsmouth residents save £3,096, 1,413 kg of carbon and 32 kg of waste in the first two months since the hub opened, and welcomed over 700 people.

Members of the public were invited to nominate a climate and environment charity to receive one of 10 special grants. Winners, including Share (Portsmouth), were drawn at random.

Clare, the driving force behind the community ventures, said: “The people of Portsmouth did us proud. We only heard about the draw four days before it happened, but so many people nominated us and shared it with family and friends. It mirrors the amazing reception we’re having in Cascades.

"Each time we’re open we get new people popping in to find out what we’re about and saying how much they love the idea and how great it is to have a practical project helping people save money and carbon. This

additional boost to our funds will help us keep going for longer, help more people fix rather than ditch and borrow rather than buy.”

NOW READ: Repair Cafe and Library of Things campaign gets backing of Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group, added: “The threat of climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing our customers and communities and we are committed to making a positive environmental impact. We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate a climate and environment charity as part of our Movement for Good Awards.

"Benefact Group is the third largest corporate donor in the UK and has an ambition to be the biggest. We know that £5,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that climate and environment charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will help to protect our planet.”

You can learn more about Share (Portsmouth) here.