Local Man Determined to do More to Support the Local Community

A man from Beverley says that after getting involved with a local football team it changed his life forever, and now he is determined to support his local community.

Tony Henderson, from Swinemoor now runs a community incentive called Renaissance Trust that sees him collect unwanted furniture from friends which he then passes on to some of the most vulnerable people in the area.

Speaking to HU17.net Mr Henderson said;

“When we started the Humber Colts football team I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. There was far more to my role as manager of the team then picking a side on a Sunday morning.”

“I found I was having to deal with a range of social issues that are found on a council estate not just here in Beverley but throughout the UK.”

“Our team, The Colts were given a lot of support by local groups in getting it off the ground, one of those were the Beverley Lions. As pay back we as a team would help them raise money which they in turn ploughed right back into the community.”

“It is while doing this work I realised I wanted to do something more myself to support the people I consider my friends and neighbours.”

Mr. Henderson quit his job with council and returned to education where he complete his GCSE’s and A Levels. Now he is currently doing a degree in Psychology & Criminology and his level 3 counselling. It was at this point he founded the Renaissance Trust, he explained;

“While doing my course, I realised money was being ploughed into helping people over come drug addiction but when they got better they were being left to their own devices, and the support stopped there.”

“I wanted to find a way to help them, and through using social media, mainly Facebook, I started to source furniture from the friends. I then passed this on to these people, so they could start to build a home.”

“Mainly what I aim to do is provide them with something to keep food in and also something to prepare food with. I was really overwhelmed with the response from the people of Beverley. They really are a generous lot.”

Mr. Henderson hopes to expand the scheme and do even more to support the community.

His plans involve raising money through the sale of surplus furniture and goods, he said;

“I want to open a second-hand furniture shop and put all the money raised from sales back into local charities who provide vital front line services to the people of Beverley. I have my eye on what used to be Burtons in the middle of Beverley. You have to aim high after all.”

While his project started out with working with reformed drug users Mr. Henderson says he now touches the lives of a far broader range of people, he said;

“It is not just former addicts who I support. I help people with learning difficulties, who have had debt issues and people who in the current climate are just struggling to make ends meet.”

“While I do most of this on my own I do get a help from a couple of close friends, and some people have really helped get this venture going for which I am grateful for. Going forward I hope I can devote more time and do a lot more to help people who are less fortunate than me.”