Donation gives Teesdale social enterprise a warm feeling

A SOCIAL enterprise has been given a cash boost so its volunteers can get down to the knitty gritty.

Teesdale U3A celebrated its tenth anniversary with a raffle earlier this year. The £630 proceeds have now been donated to Warm Age Wood Company, a social enterprise based in Market Place, Barnard Castle.

Along with giving one bag of wood to those in need for every ten bags sold, Warm Age Wood Company sells knitted items, of which ten per cent of the profits buys additional wood. Volunteers knit the garments and will use the money to buy even more materials.

Margaret Forsyth, one of the helpers, said: “We use all real wood – merino and bluefaced Leicester and sometimes alpaca. There are no synthetics – we insist on that. This money means we’re going to be able to buy even more materials so we can make even more garments.”

The social enterprise is run by Dave Watson and Gerardine O’Connor.

Alan Swindale, chairman of U3A, thanked all those at U3A who helped with the raffle as well as the following businesses for donating prizes:

Ann Whitfield, Kyle Travel, Beauty Box, Hoppers jewellers, Clarendens, Morrisons supermarket, Edinburgh Woolen Mill, Tilley Bailey Irvine Solicitors, Chocolate Fayre, Three Horse Shoes, Brookes, Allium, 149 Fish & Chips, Il Palazzo, No 15 cafe, Mainsgill farm shop, Oliviers, Gun Shop, 54 Degrees North, Maxwells, Boho Boo, Maudes Coaches, Boyes, Co-op, Teesdale Restaurant, Hayloft shop, Teesdale Mercury, The Witham, Penny’s Teashop, Katie’s Fish and Chip shop, The Crown Mickleton, No3 Cafe, Moody Bakers, McFarlanes Butcher, Viva, McGarry and Co solicitors, as well as U3A members.