Whether you’re a jobseeker interested in a career in construction or woodwork, a student or recent college graduate seeking experience, or just someone with spare time on your hands, wanting to do something positive and meet new people, volunteering with us may be just the ticket! Our parent charity, EMERGE 3Rs, has three operational strands which promote sustainability in Manchester:

1) FareShare Greater Manchester - the local branch of national charity, which redistributes surplus food to good causes
2) EMERGE Recycling - a pioneering social enterprise that has been at the forefront of recycling services in Greater Manchester for more than 20 years
3) Touch Wood - a wood recycling and upcycling project, which collects surplus and waste wood and timber and gives it a new lease of life

Our Touch Wood volunteers are able to gain skills in practical woodworking, as we offer hands-on experience of working with reclaimed timber; from making basic lumber products ready for re-sale, through to assisting with the creation of bespoke items, such as kitchen equipment and home and garden furniture.

Full training in woodworking and health and safety is provided, along with Personal Protection Equipment.

The UK generates around 5 million tonnes of wood waste every year, but less than 1% is reused. Touch Wood rescues waste timber that would otherwise be landfilled or turned into woodchip; creating jobs and training opportunities for disadvantaged local people at the same time. We collect from construction sites, industrial estates and other commercial sources, reclaiming everything from pallets to indoor cycle tracks – you name it, we take it! Anything we can’t reuse is locally recycled, so nothing goes to waste.  This reduces the carbon emissions associated with disposing of waste wood, offers cost savings for DIY enthusiasts, and provides training and job potential to volunteers in the workshop. Some of the timber we work with comes from high profile sources, including the entire track of the Manchester Velodrome cycling centre and wood removed in the recent refurbishment of Manchester’s historic Town Hall!

Our skilled team of staff and volunteers often use reclaimed timber to create beautiful and practical products, such as home and garden furniture. We regularly create bespoke pieces to order; some of it for famous clients like Olympic cycling champions Jason and Laura Kenny, for whom we made a table from the Manchester Velodrome track.

Please be advised that our volunteers will require a fair level of physical fitness and manual dexterity as the role is entirely practical.

Our Touch Wood workshop and wood store is open Mon-Fri, 8.30am - 4pm (or outside of these hours only by arrangement). We occupy a unit at Maynard House, inside New Smithfield Market, in Openshaw, North Manchester, which is accessed from the main entrance on Whitworth Street East (off Ashton Old Road).