Cae Post, the Welshpool based social enterprise which is celebrating its 30th birthday this year, is looking for people to share their memories to mark this important milestone.

Cae Post provides employment to disabled and disadvantaged people in and around Welshpool through the delivery of waste management and recycling services across Mid Wales and North Shropshire. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Cae Post is putting together a ‘memory book’ to bring together the thoughts and impressions of the people who have been involved with the organisation over the years.

“Maybe you used to work or volunteer at Cae Post, or maybe you know someone who did,” suggests John Harrington, Chair of Trustees at Cae Post. “Perhaps Cae Post helped you get into employment for the first time and you went on to do other jobs elsewhere. Did you help us get off the ground in the early days or have you benefited from our services in other ways? Whatever, the reason, we would love to hear from you.”

Cae Post started out in 1986 as a small ‘not for profit’ community business set up by a group of parents, professionals and supporters, to help create work for people with learning disabilities. It has now become a highly successful social enterprise providing work opportunities to many people who are disadvantaged in the labour market.

“In the beginning, we operated a residential and employment project for young people with learning disabilities at a cottage called ‘Cae-Post’ in Pool Quay (hence our name!) providing real work and ‘ordinary life’ experiences,” explains John.

“Cae Post began recycling plastic bottles collected from the bring sites of north Powys in March 1996 and, within a year, we were providing 12 days’ work a week to people with learning disabilities at our sorting depot in Trewern, a former council workshop. We now recycle thousands of tonnes of materials each year.”

As a social enterprise, the income generated from Cae Post’s business is used to fulfil its objectives to give more people a chance to be part of the working world.

John says: “There are nowhere near enough places in Shropshire and Mid Wales where people who find it difficult to get work can get training and meaningful employment. We believe Cae Post is an asset to the local community, which is why we thought it would be a nice idea to create a memory book to show how much we mean to people – both now and into the future.”

If you would like to share your memories, please email info@caepost.co.uk, with your thoughts about what Cae Post means to you.

Click here to find out more about Cae Post and their achievements over the last 30 years.