Ten items of clothing worn by Ed Sheeran will be up for sale when East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) starts trading in Fakenham.
The charity has acquired premises at 35 Upper Market, to be opened at 10am on Thursday, 22 June by EACH Patron, The Countess of Leicester.
It will offer the same range of high-quality goods customers of EACH’s 23 other shops across the region are used to, helping to fund the care and support of children and young people with life-threatening conditions and their families.
The shop will have a fantastic book room on the first floor, overlooking the market place, which will be a lovely area to browse and sit in front of the original fireplace for a read. There is also a kids zone with activities for children so mums and dads can keep their children entertained whilst they shop.
In addition, the shop will offer clothing donated by Suffolk singing sensation and EACH Ambassador Ed, who has been a major supporter of the good cause since linking up with it in 2014.
The charity recently sold 70 items of Ed’s clothing for £7,289.87. It was the second such auction in six months, with the first having brought in £8,060.
In between those, the Shape of You singer performed exclusively for EACH at its gala dinner. The event at the Natural History Museum raised more than £260,000.
Ed, 26, has also paid a visit to EACH’s Treehouse hospice in Ipswich and taken part in a music therapy session with children.
Sarah Throssell, EACH Retail Area Manager, said: “We’re so pleased to be opening our ninth shop in Norfolk and thrilled that we can offer items of clothing donated by Ed. We’re also excited that The Countess of Leicester will be coming along to cut the ribbon, and hope many other people will join the celebrations.
“As the countdown begins, we’re still on the hunt for volunteers to help run the shop on opening day and into the future, so please do get in touch if you’d like to do something worthwhile with your spare hours.
“We’re very much looking forward to becoming part of the community in Fakenham.”
If you would be interested in more information on volunteering at the new shop please email VolunteerServices@each.org.uk or call 01223 205183. The shop will also be holding open days on Monday, 12 and Tuesday, 13 June for anyone who is interested to drop in and find out about what is involved.
As well as volunteers, EACH is after donations of the following clean and good-quality goods to sell: clothing, bric-a-brac, modern paperbacks, toys, jewellery, DVDs/CDs, household linens, retro and vintage clothes and small electrical items. These can be dropped off at the shop from Monday, 5 June.
The charity needs donations of good-quality furniture, too, and can collect it free of charge if you are unable to transport it yourself. You can contact its Retail Distribution Centre on 01842 821620 for more information.
To put into context the difference just a small donation to the 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.
In the past financial year EACH shops generated an impressive profit of more than £700,000, which all goes towards helping local families make the most of their precious time together.
