Charity shops stock up on generous donations

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Thanks to the generosity of the local community during the first week of the Donation Drive-Thru,  St Barnabas Hospice has been able to open its first shops in Lincoln.

Those who have been clearing out their closets and cupboards during lockdown were invited to donate via specially booked appointments at the charity’s Central Warehouse in Lincoln.

St Barnabas’ Head of Retail, Caroline Peach, said: “We were absolutely delighted to see so many people taking us up on our offer of donating safely and with social distancing at our Drive-Thru.  In one week alone, supporters brought us more than 2,000 bags and boxes of items which are currently sorting through for our charity shops.”

This surge in donations means that the charity’s Birchwood, Wragby Road and The Forum stores are now open with the rest of the charity’s shops planned to be open by the end of July.

Caroline added: “If anyone else has donations, then from 13th July, please do bring them to our Central Warehouse on Cardinal Close in Lincoln. As our shops re-open, they will also be accepting donations, but would urge people to spread out or stagger these over a few weeks, so our staff and volunteers can sort through them safely and so we don’t run out of room in the shops.

“We have plans to open up our Donation Drive-Thru again soon, but our main focus now is to open the shops back up so we can start once more to raise money for the Hospice.”

St Barnabas has also asked those sorting donations to consider quality over quantity and to be mindful when selecting items to donate.

St Barnabas has 26 shops across the region, since 2012, the Hospice has sold around 750,000 items with a turnover of more than £16,000,000 for its essential end of life care and associated services.