Charity shops get creative to encourage clothing donations
Mannequins in charity shop windows are being dressed with donation bags – like those pictured – as East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) bids to replenish its clothing rails.
EACH needs lots of donations to keep its shops across the region – of which there are 27 – stocked and in a position to raise at least £2.5 million between them.
The charity has relaunched its Bag It, Bring It, Boost It donation drive to encourage support, after it saw 1,000-plus bags given last year.
EACH wants individuals, families, community groups, schools and businesses to bag up their unwanted items. They can be brought to an EACH shop or, if there are a vast number, collected by the good cause.
Funds raised from the sale of donated items will give EACH a boost, helping it continue providing care for over 360 children and young people with life-threatening conditions, and support for more than 450 family members. The charity has three hospices, at Milton in Cambridgeshire, Quidenham in Norfolk and The Treehouse in Ipswich, and also takes its specialist service to family homes.
Bag It, Bring It, Boost It has already been supported this year by Ipswich Town, with the football club’s Callum Connolly and Dominic Iorfa dropping off bags at EACH’s shop in Ipswich.
Ian Nicolson, EACH Head of Retail & Trading, said: “Donations are massively important to our success. We’re particularly keen to receive the following clean and good-quality goods: clothing, bric-a-brac, modern paperbacks, toys, jewellery, DVDs/CDs, household linens, retro and vintage clothes, and small electrical items.”
To put into context the difference just a small donation to a shop can make to the vital work EACH does, here are some examples of what your donation could pay for:
- A top, skirt or pair of trousers worth £5 could pay for art supplies for a session of art therapy
- A tea set worth £10 could fund a nursing care kit
- A nice wedding hat or jacket worth £20 could pay for a support group for siblings
- An item of good-quality furniture or prom dress worth £35 could pay for an hour of specialist care.
For more information about Bag It, Bring It, Boost It and to find out where your nearest EACH shop is visit www.each.org.uk/support-us/support-our-shops. Groups, schools and businesses can arrange bag collections by:
- In Cambridgeshire and West Essex, calling 01223 204916 or emailing cambs@each.org.uk
- In Norfolk, calling 01953 666767 or emailing norfolk@each.org.uk
- In Suffolk and East Essex, calling 01473 917965 or emailing treehouse@each.org.uk
The Material Girls with cheque for EACH’s nook appeal
Caister-on-Sea friends raise £1,500 for the nook appeal
The Material Girls have contributed £1,500 to the nook appeal after a year of selling knitted gifts and toys.
Pat Bacon, Tish Edmonds and Carol Rowe, all from Caister-on-Sea, have a flair for crafts and knitting, and have been using their talents to benefit good causes since 2015.
They visit fetes and fairs across Norfolk, as well as Great Yarmouth’s Market Gates Shopping Centre.
Proceeds from their fundraising in 2017 have gone to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), specifically the charity’s nook appeal to raise £10 million for a new hospice in Norfolk. Foundations were dug out at a five-acre site in Framingham Earl in November after the appeal hit £7 million.
Tal Williams, EACH Community Fundraiser for the nook, said: “Support from members of communities across Norfolk is crucial as we bid to raise the final £3 million to turn our vision for children’s palliative care across the county into reality.
“We’d like to say a big thank you to Pat, Tish and Carol for their efforts last year and for choosing to support us again this year – do pop along and see them if you can!”
The Material Girls will be at Market Gates between 9am and 4pm on the following Saturdays: 10 February, 24 March, 28 April, 26 May, 23 June, 28 July, 25 August, 29 September, 27 October, 24 November.
For more information email daviedmonds544@btinternet.com or pbacon138@btinternet.com. For more on the nook appeal go to www.each.org.uk/the-nook.
