Hundreds of books saved from landfill by a forward-thinking north-west London charity
Known in Harrow as the ‘Local Library Legend’, Kamal Shah, Chair of North Harrow Community Library, has been receiving donations of hundreds of books a week since he first received the keys to the library back in 2018. He is always on the lookout for new ways to share them among the local community – A Good Thing delivered an instant match!
Securing a local library
The story starts back in 2014: Harrow in London had ten libraries, and proposals were made to close four (including North Harrow). Kamal was part of a local community at the time, and quickly mobilised an army of people to help save the North Harrow site. Great momentum was built, but unfortunately the site was closed regardless.
Kamal and a group of supporters got together to set out a plan to run the library themselves. Eventually, in 2018, the keys were handed over and North Harrow Community Library was born! Maintaining the site is no mean feat, as Kamal commented:
“The library is quite a big space; we have to raise a lot of money to keep it going. We don’t get any local funding and have to pay for everything ourselves. This includes the entire site: just this morning I was managing a team who had come to repair the potholes in the car park!”
Being part of A Good Thing
Having heard about A Good Thing from a local volunteer, Kamal signed up and received a new printer for the library from local charity Our Barn. This got him thinking about using the app to donate surplus books. Kamal explained:
“Since opening, we have never struggled with book donations. In fact, we have hundreds, even thousands, each month. Some are nearly new, barely used. We have a production line system to organise them and sort them into books that are suitable for the library, books that are going to be sold to raise funds, and books to be shared with local charities.”
“We have been doing this manually for a while and we even have a storage space to house some of the surplus stock. Having used A Good Thing, I thought the platform would be a great way to find a new home for some of our recently sorted items.”
Perfect timing: September is just around the corner
When the books listing popped up in local charity stalwart Andrea Brown’s inbox, she knew they were perfect for CIC Get Rid Of And Donate (GROAD). Started in 2017, GROAD is an environmental non-profit organisation focusing on reducing domestic and commercial waste to landfills by recycling and preventing poverty in communities. GROAD directly benefits underprivileged, impoverished communities and people in need of extra support, providing immediate assistance with free clothing, shoes, and other living essentials. Andrea shared:
“We started a number of years ago and we have continued to grow. When the pandemic started, referrals started flying through the door. Now, with the cost-of-living crisis, we’re seeing even more members of the community in need of items to furnish their homes and looking to obtain the everyday things that we all need to live.”
The charity works with families and refugees across the local area and books are always in demand:
“Let's be honest, books are expensive! With September just around the corner, we’re supporting refugees who are about to start school and university, and we also have open house community groups at local nurseries, so that parents can obtain free books and toys for their children to enjoy at home. The books from Kamal are just the thing we need. We even got a few toys, too!”
A shared ethos and spreading the word
GROAD’s ethos is close to our heart at A Good Thing: minimising waste and preventing overpopulating landfill sites, reducing carbon emissions and consumption. Andrea has become a real champion:
Andrea and Kamal on collection day
“I just love A Good Thing, it’s a great way for us to source items for our clients and save no-longer-needed items from businesses and charities from going to landfill. It’s so easy to use; we want to share the news of A Good Thing far and wide, so we’re going to add the A Good Thing logo to our website and spread the word, we’re so aligned with each other.”
Kamal was just as enthused:
“I will never throw away a book. They’re just too important. I will certainly be using the app again to donate books and other items we receive, perhaps also other items we no longer need that are hanging around the library. It has been fantastic to receive a printer and to donate our books to another charity.”
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