Community RePaint applies a coat of resilience in the face of Covid-19

There is no doubt about it, 2020 was a difficult year for all and the beginning of 2021 hasn’t been any easier. But despite the pandemic, the Community RePaint Network has adapted to new ways of working and our schemes across the UK all look forward to – hopefully – reopening their doors on 12 April 2021.

Since Covid-19, the central Community RePaint team has provided a variety of support to help our 65+ schemes navigate the unprecedented changes and new legislation. As a result, many of our schemes were able to continue operating with skeleton staff to provide affordable, reusable paint to individuals and organisations in their local community. What’s more, our dedicated schemes have introduced new ways of working in response to the pandemic, including setting up appointment systems for customers, providing click and collect options, setting up online shops, and paint deliveries.

Community RePaint Hull & East Riding was one of the first schemes to reopen in late April 2020. The premises was redesigned to incorporate a one-way system for customers, with two-metre distancing guidelines using yellow ‘caution’ tape to create floor arrows and distance markings.

Community RePaint Bradford has been operating an appointment system since the end of April 2020. Customers are allocated a 15-minute slot during opening hours to visit and purchase paint, ensuring that there is just one customer in the shop at any given time. Community RePaint Bradford saw their biggest spike of paint sales during the first wave of the pandemic as more people spent time at home redecorating. The introduction of these small but effective changes instore, has provided customers with assurance that the schemes are doing what they can to be Covid-safe.

In addition to the day-to-day support of our schemes, we were fortunate to have two schemes expand during 2020. Community RePaint Cornwall located in Truro opened a second property in St Austell, and Community RePaint Cambridgeshire based in March opened a new branch in Wisbech. These expansions were in response to an increased demand of reusable paint in these communities and we were glad we were able to positively respond.

In terms of paint distribution, Community RePaint Wirral continued to receive large orders of paint and provided over 100 litres of white paint to the Cheltenham Paint Festival organisers last September. Andy, the festival founder, said “The delivery was great…the paint itself was excellent and so useful.” The paint was used to create the backdrop for the murals, providing a clean surface for the vibrant and colourful artworks.

In October, the Community RePaint Network launched a social media campaign called #MyTimeToPaint on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The aim of the campaign was to encourage followers to share photos of any home-based paint projects they had completed for a chance to win a £25 paint voucher to spend at their local Community RePaint scheme. The campaign successfully gained 372 engagements during the week across our social platforms and reached more than 116,000 individuals, helping to increase awareness of our schemes nationwide.

Despite the challenges of 2020, the Community RePaint network welcomed four new schemes to include Bristol North, Darlington, Northampton and Lowestoft – a fantastic feat during so much uncertainty. We look forward to welcoming more schemes in 2021 and we are currently in conversations with prospective organisations. The continued success of the network would not be possible without the dedication, hard work and resilience of our schemes.

Paint by numbers 2020

Throughout 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic, the Community RePaint network was still able to accept and distribute a significant amount of reusable paint within the community:

The schemes have brightened 174,436 lives through individual and group sales of leftover, reusable paint.

• 297,541 litres of leftover reusable paint was collected by schemes.
• 250,747 litres of leftover reusable paint was redistributed by schemes.
• 71,655 litres of ReColour manufactured paint was produced.

View infographic for full numbers.

The Community RePaint Network is sponsored by Dulux and managed by Resource Futures.

If you would like to purchase affordable paint you can find your nearest scheme here. Do you have a big project? If you need more than 60 litres you can order our remanufactured paint ReColour here. If you have paint that you would like to donate, find you nearest drop off point here.

Learn more about setting up a scheme and contact Martin Pearse, Community RePaint Network Manager for further information.