The face of a leading Shropshire charity which has been helping the community for almost 25 years is moving on to pastures new, safe in the knowledge that her pioneering project is in good hands.
Jean Jarvis MBE founded The Furniture Scheme in Ludlow in 1994 as a way to reuse unwanted household items and provide the means for some of the most deprived in the community to build an independent life.
Jean Jarvis receives her MBE from Prince Charles
Jean Jarvis on the day she got her MBE
She is now moving on to take up a position with The Wrekin Housing Group but said she is delighted with what The Furniture Scheme has achieved over the years and is confident that good work will continue in her absence.
“The Furniture Scheme has played such a large part in my life for almost a quarter of a century and I am immensely proud of what we have done and what the charity will continue to do in the future to help some of the most disadvantaged people in our community,” she said.
“We have come a long way since 1994 but the ethos, our objectives and goals are still the same as they were then.
“It is with mixed emotions that I leave The Furniture Scheme but I thrive on challenge and there is more to be done before I give up work completely and I look forward to what lies ahead.
“I feel sad that I will no longer have regular contact with the staff, volunteers and community. But I know that The Furniture Scheme is in the excellent hands of James Cooper, in whom I have every confidence.
Jean Jarvis at the opening of The Longford Centre in Cannock
Jean at the opening of The Furniture Scheme warehouse
“The Furniture Scheme continues to fill a need in the local community and is as important today as when the need was first identified in the early 1990s. It gives me great pleasure that we have been able to help so many people in our community and that we have grown and diversified over the years to meet that need.
“I am so proud of all the staff and volunteers who have done so much to make our charity successful.
“What has been so rewarding is that we have been able to provide the skills and opportunities for so many people to be the very best that they can be.”
James Cooper, Operations Manager at The Furniture Scheme, will take over Jean’s role and continues to work from their offices at Rockspring Community Centre.
He said: “Jean has been the driving force behind The Furniture Scheme since it started and helped to create a community project which works extremely well.
“She has left us with an extraordinary legacy and I am delighted to be part of it and take on a leading role.
“We wish Jean all the very best in her new position – I can assure her and the public that we will continue the good work and it’s business as usual at The Furniture Scheme.”
Anyone wanting further information can telephone 01584 874922, email info@furniturescheme.co.uk or visit https://www.furniturescheme.co
