Thousands of chairs, tables and beds from London 2012 offered for free to charities
Howard Lake | 23 May 2013 | News
Thousands of pieces of furniture left over from the London 2012 Olympics and Paralymics are being offered to charities, schools, community groups and start-up companies for free or at a steep discount. To receive them organisations simply have to explain why they deserve to receive them.
They are being made available via a website by The Remains, the company which last year offered one million pieces of former Olympic fixtures and fittings for sale to individuals and organisations in the UK and internationally. Charities acquired some of these for various uses, such as beds for a hostel, sofas for a day centre for adults with learning difficulties, and chairs for a community centre.
The vast majority of items still available have come from the Athletes’ Village. They include garden furniture which was originally sourced from John Lewis.
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How to apply for legacy items
To qualify, organisations should use the website to introduce their organisation, explain what it does and say why they need the furniture.
A panel of judges, including former paralympic swimmer Tim Reddish, who won silver medals at the Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney Games, and Paul Levin, head of operations for Legacy Remains, will then decide which of the applicants is most deserving.
Successful applicants will receive their items free of charge. Unsuccessful applications will then be offered the chance to buy their items “at vastly reduced prices”.
The closing date for receiving enquiries is 27 July, the first anniversary of the beginning of the Olympics. Deliveries will take place from August into September.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.