Brilliant Bargains!
Charity shops are as familiar a feature of high streets and suburban shopping centres as fast food outlets and chic coffee bars.
And Jewish charity shops run by All Aboard, the largest chain supporting UK Jewish Charities, as well as Jami, Norwood, Ort and Wizo are all prominently positioned to take a slice of market-share, and raise money for their worthy charitable causes.
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Alma Cogan for a Song
There are so many plus points for the charity shop addicts – looking good on a budget, donating money to charity, recycling and best of all, looking truly individual. Happy shoppers at All Aboard shops, to give just one example, have emerged with fabulous ‘charity-find’ stories.
They feature the likes of Louis Vuitton shoulder bags, Karen Millen clothing, Jimmy Choo shoes, Clarice Cliff china, 1st edition books, and Alma Cogan records, all acquired at very little cost. And no doubt there are similar tales elsewhere. However, to keep the charity shoppers happy, the charity shops need a continual supply of donated merchandise. And that’s where you come in. For readers are becoming increasingly aware that it’s equally cool today to donate no-longer loved or needed clothing, music, books, china and household paraphernalia to charity shops, where they can help the less fortunate. Most charity shop organisations, too, make it as easy as possible to donate because they arrange regular door to door collections or fix ‘by appointment’ collections. But make no mistake. Charity shops aren’t looking for rubbish. It costs them dearly (on average £1000 per year) to dispose of unsaleable items despite concerted lobbying by the Association of Charity Shops to get local authorities to exempt charity shops from the Controlled Waste Regulations.
No Room for Rubbish
There’s really no polite way of saying this, but when you are next having that ‘springclean’ or ‘sort-out’ and have decided to donate to a charity shop, please think twice – they repeatedly emphasise - about donating merchandise you know is truly unsaleable.
But the point is do please continue to donate all those suitable items of yours that could help to raise money for so many worthy causes. A question people sometimes ask is answered by Carol Marks, Executive Administrator of All Aboard, with shops in many areas and 19 years of charity shop trading under its belt. She stresses that her organisation, unlike some, has never, nor as a continuing matter of principle, will ever buy in merchandise. Everything is an authentic contribution, carefully checked.
The supply of goods to genuine charity shops becomes daily more urgent, as more and more people try to ‘Do It Themselves’; with clever use of photography and words, and a quick flick of the mouse, suddenly everyone’s selling (and buying) on eBay. This phenomenon has meant that charity shops, Carol believes, need to be even more grateful and show their appreciation to donors by way of a pleasant smile, a verbal thank you and a grateful follow up card or letter as is the case at All Aboard and other reputable charity shops.
Thanks to You
‘The Thank You’ element is one of our golden house rules’, says Carol, who’s been Executive Administrator at All Aboard for over ten years, under an Advisory Board headed by Stella Lucas, MBE.
To earn those thanks is not difficult. “We make donating easy. There’s our team of volunteers at Head Office to take your telephone calls, and volunteer collectors available in many areas to pick up your donations, as well as our collection vans on scheduled runs.” Carol also stresses a few, largely overlooked or ‘under the counter’ aspects of ‘do-gooding’ at charity shops.
“Besides being somewhere to donate saleable items or buy interesting things competitively, they provide volunteering opportunities for 5th and 6th formers to obtain work experience and ‘plus points’ for their UCAS forms and Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme badges. Remember too, we offer volunteering opportunities for retired people to fill their spare time – a recognised social service. Many have found their hours of dedicated voluntary service a real therapy, as well as a wonderful way of making new friends. Charity shops also furnish work placement opportunities to people returning to work and they can be a godsend for employees difficult to place in the harsh reality of routine commercial retailing.”
All in all charity shops are big news, topical news and altogether good news for the many who swear by them today!! But you’ll never know what you’re missing if you haven’t yet tried them for yourself!
For more information, call All Aboard on 0208 958 8720.
