You wouldn't think looking at the urban front of the Adamsdown Resource Centre that there is a…read moresecret paradise of willow arches and fresh fruit, veg and flowers within, but there is and it's beautiful. This community garden is just one of the resources the Centre offers you as well as the chance to become involved in maintaining it. If you live in Adamsdown then you are lucky to have such a fantastic resource on your doorstep. Out of the Centre's offices come walks and workshops, classes, meetings, training, festivals and fun days. Their windows are plastered with posters offering a 'free homework club', 'summer woodwork project', the chance to 'sing in a community choir'. ...And they're open to other suggestions, this is a community space, this is your space. If you live in Adamsdown and want to get to know your neighbours, knock on this door, grab a cup of tea and get involved.

This branch of The British Heart Foundation has a spacious shop floor with which to display large…read moreitems of furniture that don't fit in the smaller outlets. It also carries smaller items of furniture, as well as white goods and general electricals. Sadly, the white goods and electricals are not reconditioned, and so they will only accept items that are working at the time of donation, but there's no guarantee that they will continue to do so once you get them home. They do perform function and PAT tests, so the portable appliances are likely to be more reliable. Nevertheless, white goods are the biggest sellers, which is pretty much the same story across the 87 outlets of this kind throughout the UK. Because of this they are always on the lookout for donations to replenish their white goods stock. It's always best to check with them first before loading heavy items into your car and hauling them all the way to the shop, as they will refuse certain items. They won't accept any gas cookers for instance. They also sell some new stock at reasonable prices. This is not damaged or redundant stock. Instead, they rely on buying in lesser known brands that do not carry such a hefty price tag.

Now we're talking. I've been looking for a place like this since I've moved to the UK - a showroom…read morewith an extensive range of second-hand furniture and electronics, not overpriced "antiques". Charity shops carrying larger home items are quite common in Florida, and all of the furniture in my respective family members' houses are sourced from these "thrift stores" and then reupholstered or repainted. Thankfully, this makes it difficult to spend £2,000 on a hutch or dining room table. Speaking of costs, the price here are rock bottom: Sturdy wooden dining sets for under £100, TVs for £25 and bedside tables for a fiver. For me, the appeal is owning a piece of furniture that can't be found in every home in Britain (ahem, IKEA). The staff here incredibly helpful - I wasn't in here five minutes before two members of staff politely informed me that the shop had an upstairs stock room, in case I couldn't find anything I wanted on the ground floor.

For residents of Pontprennau, this Community Centre is very central and offers a good range of…read moreclasses and activities to suit a broad range of tastes. There's an indoor sports hall, two badminton courts and a community room on the site, and activities there include dance, trampolining, softplay, martial arts, yoga, nursery, various youth activities and community meetings. For children the community centre also hosts children's parties, after school activities, holiday programmes and pre-school trampolining, as well as arts and crafts activities and dance classes! It's a pretty busy community hub, and even has rooms available for private hire. Worth checking out the classes available if you're new to the area and looking for something to do in your local community.

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.

Track 2000 converts tat into treasure…read more This not-for-profit organisation offers second hand furniture to those on a low income, it also trains the unemployed and aids the recycling effort to boot. You can pick up second hand beds, settees, wardrobes and white goods from their warehouse. The ethos is great and it's a fantastic asset for the Cardiff community, but I did find some of the furniture a little overpriced and some of the sofas in need a clean. The building itself is Victorian red brick, with a number of large biodiesel powered lorries loitering outside. Look out for the washing machine drums on the side of the building, which offering fantastic natural drainage and have been converted into ingenious plant holders. Bonus: Just ask and Track 2000 will deliver your furniture purchases

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.

I love what Age Concern is all about. They are one of the most important charities that are…read moresupporting the elderly in many different ways. Isolation is a huge problem for old people these days, as it is for younger people too, but whilst younger people may get depressed about feeling alone, there are a multitude of other potentially harmful factors of living in seclusion for the old. Isolation is a product of modern society, where communities have broken down, with large numbers of the workforce being incredibly mobile, often relocating great distances away from their parents. The fact that we have transient societies means that it's difficult to start and maintain friendships, so there are fewer people looking out for the welfare of the nations OAP's. I'm always saddened to learn of yet another old person being found dead in their home by the postman, or the milkman, instead of by a family member or a neighbour. Age Concern addresses the issue of isolation amongst a plethora of other initiatives to offer support to the frail and needy. Their shops provide a significant amount of revenue to fund these directives, and so they play an important role within the charity. This particular shop is a good one. It is well stocked, and often has good quality clothing with a few designer labels thrown in for good measure. They also have a reasonable bric-a-brac section and the books and DVD's often offer up quite a few titles that I snap up readily. Great!

Being one of those people who can't go into a charity shop without coming out with a year's supply…read moreof books, my creaking bookshelves and increasingly overloaded cupboards are eternally grateful this place isn't nearer to my house. The shop houses an impressive supply of reference books and is well ordered by subject. The staff here are clearly able to sort through the titles, and so there is a section devoted to the best quality works and the 'classics'. For the specialist reader, the shelves are also divided up into categories as diverse as Religion, Pregnancy, Foreign Language and Antiques. Throughout my English Literature, I found this quite the resource as next year's reading list often tended to appear just hours after the school's essay hand-in date. At turnover times such as these, text books and professional guides are always prominently displayed within the shop so do make sure you get in quick. At other times, keep an eye out for buy one get one free incentives. Who knows, you could take a chance and find your new favourite author. URBAN CHALLENGE: Buy a book by an author you've never read before