We are a leading Reuse Charity Supporting Dorset Communities

About us

Who we are

We’re a charity started by local people in 1998 with the purpose of supplying quality household items, promote opportunity & social inclusion and protect the environment through encouraging reuse & recycling and reducing the amount going to landfill.

We do not receive grants or financial support from any local authority or independent trusts, so the money we make is used to help us pay our rent, keep our vehicles on the road, pay staff and train volunteers. It also helps us achieve our social and environmental objectives.

We’re governed by a board of Trustees who share a passion for reuse, the community and the benefits of volunteering – find out who they are here. They have a clear purpose to help people & the environment.

What we do

We offer a free collection service for donated items from local residents across Dorset and the west of Hampshire which then go on display in our retail warehouses and are made available to everyone. There is a delivery and installation service to help our customers as well. We also operate a bulky item disposal service for those items that are no longer fit for reuse. This is a paid for service & we recycle everything we can. We separate out wood & metals and are licensed by the Environment Agency to dispose of electrical waste. In partnership with local agencies and charities, we support families in need by providing furniture and electrical items via referrals and grants. We also provide volunteering opportunities at each branch for local people to learn something new, gain more experience or simply become part of a team making a difference.

Agency referrals

If you are an agency with a client you want to refer, please look at the “Agency” section on what you need to do.

Partnerships

Often we work with others to help deliver services and environmental objectives. We have links with local authorities, partnerships with housing associations to help provide residents with items for their homes, and work on a sustained or one off basis with other charities and groups. We rent items to local theatre groups and provide a friendly environment for placements and volunteering initiatives.

Community impact

We have been running for over 25 years and in that time have…

Supplied 152,000 local families with good quality items

Employed over 120 local people – though not at all at the same time!

Had over 7,000 volunteers work with us

Prevented 7,700 tonnes from going to landfill

Carried out over 195,000 collections

Reused 262,000 items

Team members

On an average day, we will have around 25 staff and 15 volunteers working at Reclaim to deliver our services across the county from 3 warehouse stores.

Hilary Loveless

Dorchester Store Manager

Hils was appointed manager at our Dorchester store in 2022 after originally joining us in an administration & reception role. Her efficient and calm manner has helped transform our Dorchester store into a great place to work for her staff, a friendly and inviting environment for our customers as well a very productive hub for reuse and recycling.

Darren Campbell

Bournemouth Store Manager

Joining us as a volunteer in 2014, Darren started as a warehouse supervisor in 2016 after his abilities & passion for the charity became evident. He became manager in 2018 and has improved the look of the store at Bournemouth immensely in the last couple of years. He has also taken on the responsibility for looking after the fleet of vehicles as well as running his own depot.

Dean Wright

Poole Store & Workshop Manager

Dean has been with the charity since 2007, originally as a volunteer before being employed & training with us as an apprentice to become a domestic appliance engineer. His role involves general management of the Poole store with the support of a great team, but his natural ability with anything mechanical leaves the rest of us in awe and so very pleased to have him onboard.

Trustees

The trustees are interested in seeing the charity thrive and maintain the services to the local community. They are all volunteers, come from a wide variety of backgrounds and live locally.

If you want to help and this is something you believe you could contribute to, contact us at our Bournemouth branch.