The Lewis Trust shop on Clifton Street is a registered charity (No. 1078443). It used to be called…read moreWar On Want, but changed it to The Lewis Trust (Fighting Against Poverty) Ltd in recent years. The aim of the charity is to help alleviate poverty and distress around the world. It does this by funding initiatives to reduce poverty and providing medical care and advice o people living in impoverished conditions. They also publish reports detailing the causes of disease and suffering, covering both physical and mental disorders, as well as offering insights into the means of elieving these conditions. They also provide education about these matters to schools colleges and at various public events. The Lewis Trust charity shop on Clifton Street seems to specialise in selling furniture and other high value items. It also has a good range of books and a fair amount of bric-a-brac. They are always on the lookout for furniture donations, and so it's worth contacting them if you have an unwanted sofa stored away in your garage.

This is a charity shop with a maverick vibe - tatty and archaic, the kinda vibe I like…read more The Lewis Trust is a small independent that sits at the other end of the spectrum to the Oxfam supermarket. This is a good thing. However I find some of the goods sold here a little over priced for their quality. I purchased a small backless pine cupboard for £15 (cira 1990 yellowed, varnished not antique pine) and instantly regretted it, unfortunately guilt prevailed and I didn't return it - it was after all a charity shop. Saying this I think it's still well worth popping your head into if you're on the hunt for some furniture and you happen to be in the area.

This registered charity offers training and experience in music, video, computers and graphics to…read moreyoung people aged 16-25 in the Cardiff area. It aims to help young people recognise their potential and give them a greater sense of self-worth by offering learning opportunities in a relaxed and friendly environment in the heart of the city centre. From photographic and image manipulation courses to video-making taster workshops, it's a hub of musical and other activity. Some young people take longer courses at the centre that lead to qualifications, while others just join in shorter activity workshops or one-off events. There's also a cheap coffee bar based at Grassroots to give young people the chance to drop in to socialise or find out more about what's on offer. There's an advice office, too, providing a free drop-in service covering issues and problems of relevance to young people.

A charity with its heart firmly in the right place, Grassroots is a tireless trainer of arty…read morepursuits to young people. If you're 16-25 and want to get skills and advice in music, video, computers, graphics, photography, performance or the Internet, they can help. Several years back there were also regular lo-fi gigs at its Charles Street base, while a coffee shop remains at the premises, proving Grassroots walks it as well as it talks it.

This is a friendly local centre well-located for most Plasnewydd residents with a well-used indoor…read moresports hall, two badminton courts, and a function and committee room. Parents can hold their kids' birthday parties at the centre, keeping all the mess and chaos well away from their own homes - the centre organises the party for them, and all parents have to do is pick the activity. Bonus. Activities available at the centre include all sorts, from Akido, ballroom dance and fencing club to gymnastics, Kung Fu and Shorinji kempo (a Japanese system for self-improvement and training). With such a wide variety of things on offer at the centre, it's a good place to check out if you're a Plasnewydd resident thinking about taking up a new activity.

This charity shop is one among many along albany road…read more The shop sells charitable donations, for me that mean a rummage around the book section looking for something interesting. The red decor is a brand statement and in keeping with the British Heart Foundations colour scheme. As charity shops go this one is clean uncluttered and is more resembling a modern refurbished shop than a run down charity shop and makes for pleasant shopping. It's a good feeling knowing your purchase will make a contribution to a charity, so buy something.

The British Heart Foundation is one of my favourite charity shops. This one is especially brilliant…read morefor the way it has managed to take on board the recent developments in charity shop running (as I have said before, pushed too far this can be the death of a charity shop) whilst still remaining loyal to its customer base. Most people who shop in charity shops are old; they don't want to be visually assaulted by lurid clothes and shoes. This shop is filled with lovely people, all of whom I think could be either my grannie or my friend, and they have a good range of stock too. I came in here and got some tea towels to make a Halloween costume but they were actually really good quality so we kept them for real use! The prices are great too.

I love The Big Issue! I love everything it stands for and everything that it does! Not only does it…read morehelp unfortunate people get their lives back on track, but the magazine itself is a really useful resource, offering really insightful editorial, a healthy 'what's on' section and a plethora of jobs (usually for the caring trades and charities). When I'm in Cardiff I tend to buy my copy from Daniel, a Romanian father of two, who has been selling The Big Issue just outside Cardiff Central Station for the last two years. You'll find him quite close to the national Express offices and charity shops as you round the corner off Wood Street. These days he says that sales are significantly down, and only manages to sell about six or seven copies a day. With a wife and two children to feed, clothe and house, this is clearly not enough! He's resorted to borrowing from friends over the last few months. I used to know what proportion of the sale price the vendor retains. I think it's around a pound, with a cover price of £1.70. Sellers need to buy the magazines up front, and can return unsold issues with a refund. This avoids any abuse of the system, and helps the drug addicts invest in something a little more constructive. Head office 1-5 Wandsworth RoadVauxhall LondonSW8 2LN

Written by professional journalists and sold by homeless people, the Big Issue Cymru has excellent…read moreintentions. It aims to give the homeless a way of earning an income without simply begging, helping them save enough to get themselves into more stable housing situations, and then assimilate back into mainstream society. It also has a support and counselling arm, helping vendors with a whole host of physical and mental health issues. The publication itself is well-written, and while you might not be interested in every news story or feature, it does cover a good variety of social and environmental issues. I have one big problem with the Big Issue Cymru, though: why do I still see the same vendors on the streets of Cardiff now that were selling the magazine a decade ago? I know some of their faces from when I did work experience there, and I have bought the magazine from many of them over the years, yet still they are on the streets, selling the magazines, and not moving on into permanent housing and a brighter future. I wonder if after a while they start to feel safe being part of a community of Big Issue sellers, and their homeless status is normalised so that they get 'stuck' in that rut rather than moving on? And that surely goes against the aims of the venture. I hope that statistically the majority do move on from being Big Issue sellers, and that it's just a minority that get stuck in this way.