Charity shops reopen to high sales and donations

CHARITY shops in Frome have reported getting back to business with a bang after reopening on Monday April 12th.

The Julian House shop in the Market Place says it has been ‘inundated’ with donations while the British Heart Foundation (BHF) shop in  in the Westway Precinct made nearly £4,000 in sales in its first week of opening.

Angie Smith, manager of Julian House, which was closed throughout all lockdowns, said they had been inundated with donations after the first lockdown last year.

In June 2020 they put a 10-day pause on accepting any more stock to allow them to process the huge amount that came in when they first reopened. But Angie (pictured) said since the most recent reopening on Monday April 12th, donations  had been coming in steadily.

“We are extremely grateful,” Angie told Frome Times. “Our staff and lovely volunteers have dealt well with the situation and we have established a good system for dealing with the donations, especially when we were having to quarantine them.

“Luckily, on the whole, people responded well to our request and did not leave items outside the shop.

“Shops like ours obviously rely on the generosity of the public to let us have their clothing and bric a brac that they no longer use.  When deciding what to give we always say to people would you buy this item if you saw it in a shop?  

“Yes, we can recycle items that have a little mark or flaw but if something is damaged or very broken then it costs the charity money to dispose of these; money which would otherwise be used to support the people we help.”

Angie said the shop was very happy to accept donations at the present time but would appreciate a phone call if anyone had something to large to donate, to ensure they had the space for it.

“We can take clothing, linen, bric a brac, books, small electrical items and small items of furniture. Unfortunately, we are unable to take worn underwear, used duvets and pillows or large items of furniture/electrics,” Angie said

If anyone is interested in volunteering for Julian House telephone 01373 467940 or pop into the shop.

Julian House supports the homeless society. 

Elkie Woodbridge, regional director at British Heart Foundation (BHF) said the Frome shop received over 200 bags of donations and made nearly £4,000 in sales in the first week of opening after the latest lockdown.

“We are absolutely thrilled to say that the Frome shop had a very successful first week since reopening,” said Elkie. “Spring is in the air and customers have been particularly keen to snap up fashion tops, dresses and light knitwear as they look to update their spring wardrobe.

“Our brilliant team have been quick to sort through all donated items now we are back up and running. Each item is checked for quality and cleanliness before being placed on the shop floor.

“We’d like to encourage the people of Frome to keep dropping by with any good quality preloved items they wish to donate. We never take a donation for granted and every item sold will help us continue to fund our life-saving research into heart and circulatory diseases.”

Elkie said the BHF was hugely grateful for the incredible support of the local community while the shop had been closed throughout the lockdowns of the past year. “The team is pleased to welcome everyone back through our shop doors to snap up plenty of bargains which all help to fund our life saving heart research,” she added.

There were no bags of donations left outside the shop while it was closed. Elkie said, “As people have taken the time to declutter their homes and wardrobes over the past year, we’re grateful that our customers held onto their donations until we could welcome them back to our shop once again.”

The coronavirus crisis has had a “seismic impact” on the BHF’s income, she told Frome Times. “We anticipate that our annual research budget will be cut by £50 million. We are therefore thrilled to have our shops back up and running, and we are always grateful for any good quality donations – big or small. We would encourage those in the Frome community who have been busy decluttering to simply head to our BHF shop with their quality unwanted items and drop them at our in-store donation points. 

“For those who are not yet ready to hit the high street, you can donate via our postal donation service too. Every item sold can help us to support the 7.6 million people living with heart and circulatory diseases across the UK, many of whom are at increased risk of Covid-19, and aid our recovery from the devastating impact of the pandemic.”

Elkie said, “We have an incredible team of volunteers, without whom we simply wouldn’t be able to operate our shop. Now that we are reopen, if anyone in the local community would like to volunteer and support us, they can head to bhf.org.uk/volunteer to register their interest or contact our shop directly.

“The last year has been the most difficult in the BHF’s 60 year history and ongoing shop closures have had a huge impact on our income, but as we approach our milestone birthday, we are incredibly touched by the continued loyalty, dedication and support from our staff, volunteers and customers alike. 

“We appreciate good quality items and are keen to receive summer clothing, accessories and shoes which will be popular over the warmer months.”

A full list of items the BHF are unable to accept is on the website www.bhf. org.uk/shop/donating-goods/book-furniture-collection-near-me/items-we-can-not-sell.; this includes anything broken or soiled, toys without a CE label, prescription goods or used bedding.dsds