The final part of our warehouse clearing adventure with Firecracker Works saw us connect with a community centre in Birmingham and provide materials for a Social Enterprise in Woking.
We started with insulation...
The building of events requires creating small spaces inside bigger spaces with a lot of foot traffic often passing by. With that comes the need to soundproof rooms to stop noise leaks from outside to inside as well as inside to outside. The amount of insulation sitting at Firecracker after a year (pre-Covid) of soundproofing was substantial; there were 235 large panels taking up space in their warehouse.
Whilst Event Cycle tries to place items locally first, on occasion there are some items that are not requested in the immediate area. One of these was insulation. But along with our logistics partner KB Event, we made sure that the insulation was included on a lorry load already bound for the Midlands.
Dropping off the insulation en route, KB Event delivered the panels to Culmington Hall Community Centre, a small community centre that hosts support groups for young children, families and the elderly. The centre aims to improve the quality of life for all local residents by bringing them together through group activities, social, educational and leisure activities using the venue and its facilities.
The centre, which hosts playgroups, dance classes, martial arts evenings and training sessions, has never had insulation in their loft nor has it had sufficient funds to be able to purchase any. The centre has been promised leftovers from local building firms on many occasions but nothing has ever materialised. So they were very pleased when Event Cycle called them up last month:
“Thank you so much for the donation of loft insulation. I have never known in the 38 years of running Culmington Hall to have had any insulation of any description. The centre was completely full! This will be so beneficial towards the cost of the bills.
Local volunteers all helped, especially on a football match night (England v Denmark, Euros semi-final). Very proud of our local community for pulling together in this project at such short notice.
We would not have been able to do this without the donation through Event Cycle. Many thanks, Chantal and all involved”
Wanda Collins, Chair of Culmington Hall.
Repurposed Wood
As you can imagine and probably know, the amount of bespoke work requested by clients is high and whilst trying to convince most to change their ways and build in a more conscious way, there are inevitably times when suppliers can’t win and will need to produce items which don’t have an easy recycling route. One of these items is painted wood which if incinerated for heat will release toxic chemicals during the process. Realistically the only option, if you haven’t used an environmentally friendly emulsion, is repurposing or landfill.
Enter Event Cycle...
A project, which was cancelled due to the pandemic, left Firecracker with a lot of painted wood that had been made into decorative side panels, window panes and doorways. Event Cycle connected Firecracker with The Useful Wood Company.
Useful Wood is a social enterprise that provides opportunities for people who are marginalised in society. The company work with local volunteers to give people who cannot access the job market at present the opportunity to gain experience in a real work environment, gaining confidence and useful skills for the future. Ultimately the aim is to help individuals better their lives and find gainful employment.
The wood salvaged from Firecracker will be used in skills workshops to create wendy houses, storage boxes and planters saving the wood from landfill, creating products from repurposed rather than raw materials and teaching invaluable skills to those who would benefit immensely.
The Firecracker Partnership
Right from the start, Firecracker was enthusiastic about Event Cycle and how we work. They were on board from the very beginning of the initiative when we presented to them as the idea was being formulated. They understood the need to design with social purpose in mind and now get Event Cycle involved to consult when projects are in their infancy.
The partnership has already benefited a number of charities (look out for the future Success Stories) since we started working together earlier this year and we hope to continue this success as Firecracker work to become the most sustainable they can be.
This is the final part in a four-part story of the Firecracker warehouse spring clean. Click here to read from the start