Morley Gets Creative In The Name Of Charity

This is a sponsored article by Morley Glass

Morley Glass & Glazing is well-known for its commitment to sponsoring local clubs and societies, helping organise charity events and raising money for good causes. Now, the business has been able to combine all of these with a unique approach to how it recycles the waste products of its production process.

Over the past year, Morley has got creative with the help of local glass artists Bob and Gael Spishak, who have been giving the offcuts of glass created during Morley’s manufacturing process a new lease of life as works of art. Using their own home studio, the couple melt the glass down and reform it to produce stunning pieces of glass wear.

Items they create include bowls, decorations and even a Nativity scene, all of which are subsequently either sold or donated. Last year, a number of items were delivered to St John Fisher Catholic Primary School to be sold at events to raise money for the school, as well as to St Edmund’s Church, who sold pieces to raise money for Butterwick Hospice and Durham Family Welfare Adoption.

Bob and Gael are also members of the Rotary Club of Roundhay, and most recently used glass donated from Morley Glass to create a number of unique pieces to be sold on Yorkshire Day, with all proceeds going to help fund the club’s worthwhile endeavours.

You might think Morley’s waste products stop at glass, but you’d be wrong. The business is also responsible for the disposal of a great deal of packaging, both wooden and plastic, the majority of which it is committed to recycling and/or reusing.

In particular, it is the wooden boxes the business receives parts in from Italy that have become incredibly popular with local schools and craft societies for their sheer adaptability for a number of creative projects.

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School took advantage of Morley’s generosity to allow the students to create personal memory boxes in honour of their 50^th anniversary. The boxes, which the children decorated and filled themselves, will be buried in a time capsule.

Meanwhile, Chapel Allerton Pyrography Class collected sheets of wood from the inside of the boxes for their pyrography projects. Other beneficiaries of the scrap boxes include the Japanese Garden Society and a local craftsman who uses them to create bird houses and bug hotels, to aid garden biodiversity.

The number of uses for the scrap glass and boxes has been remarkable, and are a true testament to the creativity of people in the local area. If you know of a charity or organisation that may have a creative use for a Morley by-product, get in touch to let us know.