Forum Topic

Charity Question

Old books are given to Acton Central Station. Where do we take old toys, old blankets, etc? Christmas is fast approaching. Is there a place that I could take any old items that may be of some help locally? I live near Acton Central station. Thinking of doing a loft clear out soon and change my wardrobe from summer to autumn soon and it would be a great help if it was somewhere nearby. Thank you!

Tanya Santos ● 4368d21 Comments

Jolly grateful for the books at the station swap - it has been refreshingly full recently.The charity shops maybe - though you could ask first.I know Emmaus and also animal homes such as Mayhew are keen on blankets.Or you could join Streetbank and offer them there - its for local people to give away or find all sorts of items - but not as stressful as freecycle.

Sara Nathan ● 4368d

old towels are also very useful to vets - doesn't matter if they're a bit thin or scruffy

Nina Battleday ● 4367d

Thanks for your advice, looking forward to our clear out :)

Tanya Santos ● 4367d

There is something called a Jumble Trail which seems like fun.It sounds like a good way to get to know your neighbours (if you want to)!Anyway take a look at the website:  http://www.jumbletrail.com/

Philippa Bond ● 4364d

Clean blankets and clothing we are happy to take, a neighbour sends a lorry to Syria every month to help those who have nothing. Pm me if interested. Old toys St Gabriels church on Noel road is having a winter fayre at the end of November, however they do run a baby and toddler group each week and am sure some toys would be appreciated.

Tomasz Keller ● 4364d

I like the look of that - could work very nicely around Acton Central, maybe timed to coincide with one of those play in the street days.

Ben Smith ● 4364d

Is there still enthusiasm for sending lorries to Syria?After the last brutal murder of a blameless aid worker, I would have thought it quite hard to find those prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to carry aid to ISIS-riddled states.

Sara Nathan ● 4362d

We had a community yard sale in Goldsmith Avenue a couple of years ago. It was great fun and everyone enjoyed it. Very easy to organise: www.londonyardsale.co.uk

Clare Gittins ● 4361d

how does it work? I like the way jumble trail gives you a map and categories for the stalls.  there was one in walthamstow yesterday with 73 stalls!http://www.jumbletrail.com/event/NorthWestE17

Ben Smith ● 4361d

I did flyers for all my neighbours and put signs on lampposts which gave the date, details of the yardsale website and my contact details. On the day about 10 households in Goldsmith Avenue joined in and there were several other yardsales in Acton on the same day. For more information see http://www.londonyardsale.co.uk/guaranted-success/. You can email me via the site if you'd like more information.

Clare Gittins ● 4361d

The Walthamstow one is quite famous and been going for some years I think.

Sara Nathan ● 4361d

Looks like there's been a few this summer according to twitter - walthamstow, peckham, west norwood, hackney.  I like the idea as I never look at flyposts on streelamps.

Ben Smith ● 4361d

Nick  You'd still need to advertise it.Clare's yard sales sound successful too.  I think the thing is that it is better to be responsible for what you put on sale.  There used to be lots of jumble sales but then someone had to make sure stuff was sellable and dispose of anything that wasn't or didn't sell at the end. There just aren't the volunteers nowadays.

Philippa Bond ● 4360d

"Nick  You'd still need to advertise it."That's the point of jumbletrail and twitter, no? And you can't show a map of 78 stalls on a piece of paper stapled to a tree.

Ben Smith ● 4360d

(I tend not to use staples on trees being a bit of a tree-hugger - I prefer using lampposts...)You wouldn't need a map showing 78 stalls if they were all in a local area. A list of the roads would be enough. Once you're in the road it's obvious who is holding a yard sale. Local websites like this one are best for advertising local events. I'm sure Londonyardsale, Twitter and Jumbletrail work well too. (We advise using Twitter on the site). I was told by one woman who had advertised her sale on Londonyardsale that someone had seen it listed on the site and travelled all the way across London to go. But you can't have a successful sale without doing lots of local advertising. A surprising number of locals don't know this website exists and not everyone gets local information from Twitter.

Clare Gittins ● 4359d

You can tie notices to trees with string - hurts nobody. You can laminate them too if you want them to last at this time of year (there is a CCA laminator but we would like someone else to buy the plastic for a change!)That plus this site, CW4, Ealing, local facebook pages/groups - We Love Acton/CCA/Derwentwater/Poets Corner Garden etc And the local yahoo groups: CCA/Acton History/Oaks Action/Mums4MumsPlus Claire's specialised sitesOh and the noticeboard by the station.Does take a degree of commitment and energy though...

Sara Nathan ● 4358d

Ebay used to have a "Wanted" section but no longer does.  This was useful for finding replacements for things eg liquidiser jugs and mixing bowls for specific machines no longer being sold as well as reclaimed items from defunct electrical machines eg dishwasher baskets.Streetbank I believe is good for sharing as well as giving away locally.Espares is good for some pretty current spares (eg the vacuum cleaner bags you can no longer get) and there are videos of how to replace some things on the web.Is anywhere else good for old replacement bits and bobs?

Philippa Bond ● 4358d

Mary and volunteers run the Blue Cross animal charity stall at Acton market every Saturday (opposite Morrison's entrance)  and always appreciates anything donated . It's a great cause .

John Blackmore ● 4358d

The CCA usually runs a stall at the Acton Christmas Fair on The Mount. I heard a rumour yesterday that something may be happening on 13 December. If you can wait until we know for sure, I (as the CCA stall organiser) would be happy to take any of the following: books, good bric-a-brac, second-hand jewellery, children's toys. I'll post a message in the forum when I know if we're going to do anything.

Nancy Duin ● 4357d

Noticed this Jumble Trail advertised the other day.http://www.ealingtoday.co.uk/default.asp?section=info&page=evjumble001.htmNot as local as Nancy's possible CCA stall above and the Blue Cross stall.  It will be interesting to find out how well it goes.

Philippa Bond ● 4352d

The Churchfield Community Association will definitely be doing a stall at the Acton Christmas Fair on 13 December. So if you've got good bric-a-brac, second-hand books, children's toys and, especially, second-hand jewellery, we'd love to have it to sell. No electrical items or clothes, please.Contact me at nduin@nancyduin.net and we'll sort out getting the things to me.

Nancy Duin ● 4352d