A Bermuda business is ploughing part of its resources back into the community.

And Rudy Morris, co-owner of furnishings and accessories store Orange Bay Company, said more firms should follow their lead and support charities — with time as well as money.

Mr Morris said: “At Orange Bay Company, we work closely with many local charities and it’s part of our operating model to give back as much as we can — in financial support, donations in kind and volunteerism — to Bermuda’s non-profits.

“It’s part of our pledge to help deliver better living to everyone.”

The firm supports the Centre Against Abuse, the St George’s Foundation and the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) through programmes that involve donations in kind.

Orange Bay, based in Mills Creek Road, Pembroke, was founded five years ago and offers high quality used furniture, art, home decor items and a selection of vintage clothes.

Orange Bay also takes items on consignment — and if they do not sell within a fixed time and the owners do not want them back, the goods are donated to charity.

In addition, the company donates items of clothing to the Centre Against Abuse’s Dress for Success shop, where proceeds are used to fund the charity’s work.

And smaller home furnishings and other items are regularly donated to Second Hand Rose, the St George’s Foundation’s store.

Larger unsold furniture items are warehoused and made available to the BHC to help tenants furnish properties, while the housing organisation’s Hustle Truck, which provides employment for the jobless, is used to move furniture.

Co-owner Delight Morris said: “We make a point of helping non-profits because we know that, even in our small community, sometimes people don’t have the kind of support they need from family or friends and Bermuda’s charities fill that void — they save lives and help Bermudians secure better futures.

“Their work is essential in creating a better place for all of us.

“But the conundrum for charities is that during tough economic times, when demand for their services is greatest, their sources of funding become more limited as corporate donors cut back.

“So I want to take this opportunity to remind Bermuda’s business community that we can support our local charities with more than just financial donations — we can give employees time off to volunteer, we can donate professional services, we can give supplies rather than money, we can share office space and resources.

“There are a lot of things we can do to help our charities.”

Representatives of all three groups praised Orange Bay for their sense of civic responsibility.

Laurie Shiell, of the Centre Against Abuse, which was recently forced to close the Island’s sole shelter for battered and abused women and their children due to lack of funds, said: “The clothes they donate generate important revenue for the centre, in a way that doesn’t burden them financially.

““Unfortunately, the generosity of Orange Bay and our other supporters hasn’t provided quite enough funding to keep the shelter operating, so we’re calling on the wider community to help us out in any way we can — to think outside the box, just like our friends at Orange Bay.

“If work together, I know we can get the shelter up and running again to help victims of abuse in Bermuda.”