Local Aid Charity

The programme is designed for young people with additional learning needs, who are traditionally disadvantaged within the workplace.

It offers mandatory training in health and safety, recycling and positive working, and gives them an introduction to Local Aid’s shop.

Pupils are then encouraged to develop skills in customer care, money handling, retail, and IT. As part of their work placement, students learn how to use eBay.

The process involves filtering through the charity’s donations and selecting the items they feel would sell better online. If necessary, the students then upcycle the products ready to be listed.

Valuing donations, photographing items, writing descriptions, and listing the products for sale before shipping is all managed direct from the Local Aid shop. The team love hearing the “kerching!” when an item is sold.

As well as a tool to engage and educate students, eBay is also an income generator for the charity, which uses the platform and its global customer base to sell donations that might otherwise end up in landfill.