Greg supported the Choose Charity Shops campaign, led by the Charity Retail Association, by making a donation of items to the St Michael’s Hospice shop in Devonshire Road, Bexhill last Friday. This is a special year for St Michael’s Hospice who are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year.
The Charity Retail Association has said that charity shop popularity is at an all time high. Charity shops now raise over £200 million every year for a huge range of charitable causes and they reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by 3.7 million tonnes every year through reusing items. They also support 180,000 volunteering opportunities and 17,000 jobs.
But charity shops thrive on donations of unwanted items from members of the public, and many are struggling to get enough through the door. This week nearly 6,000 charity shops in the UK are coming together to ask members of the public to make a donation to a charity shop in their area and pledge to donate to charity shops for the coming year. Events are taking place across the country to support the campaign.
Warren Alexander, Chief Executive of the Charity Retail Association, said: ‘Charity shops simply can’t survive without donations from the public, and we are delighted to have 25 supporting the campaign in Bexhill and Battle.’
Speaking in Bexhill, Greg said “Charity shops are a great source of income for local and national charities. In Bexhill and Battle we have a number of charity shops which are always busy and it is a real credit to our local community that there are so many volunteers willing to give up their time to work in the shops. However these shops rely entirely on donations so if you are having a spring clean and clearing out cupboards and wardrobes please think about taking your unwanted items along to a local charity shop.”