About Us
Bookdonors Community Interest Company
Bookdonors is a social enterprise trading in used books to help people, charities and our environment. We are a member of the Scottish Coalition of Social Enterprises and Social Firms Scotland.
We are a registered community interest company (with no shareholders). This has a very similar structure to a registered charity and is also overseen by a Government Regulator. Like registered charities, we are fully accountable to all our stakeholders.
Our priorities are:
To help our charity & not-for-profit partners to fund-raise through the sale of used books on the internet.
To provide flexible employment opportunities to people who find work generally difficult to obtain.
To support literacy development by giving away 10,000s of free books.
To help protect our precious environment by re-using & recycling unwanted books which would have gone to landfill.
We are based in Selkirk in the rural south of Scotland.
Bookdonors' Total Team
Our team comprises of staff, work placement trainees and volunteers.
During 2010, we involved a total of 51 people.
We ensure 30% of all our team
are people with either a disability or medical condition.
We do not have any care or support workers.
We do not have any clients or patients.
We do have staff, work placement trainees and volunteers.
All our staff are expected to support each other on an equal team-mate basis. This has meant a huge and interesting learning curve for our staff ... but it works! We do our best to give a person any support they need - as simply & straightforwardly as we can.
We are definitely not a segregated 'sheltered workshop'.
We are inclusive with everyone valuing each other's contribution & efforts
We ensure at least 80% of all our team
are people who are regarded as 'disadvantaged'.
Our team encompasses
Carers with daily responsibilities.
Ex-offenders - this is dependent upon circumstance as we do have people who are vulnerable
Offenders on Community Service from the courts.
Older people who were made redundant, then became unemployed for years.
People living in very isolated, rural location with poor or no public transport.
People who have English as another language.
Retired people who help as volunteers and returning to work.
Single parents.
Young people who have never had a job since leaving school or college.
We now employ 23 people at Selkirk and another 2 based at their homes to suit their particular circumstance such as caring, single parent, isolated location, disability.
