A Melksham charity is inviting people to support its town centre shop, which reopened this week.
Cats Action Trust North & West Wiltshire faces a shortfall of thousands of pounds after it had to repeatedly close its doors due to the pandemic.
The shop in Bath Road, near the town bridge, is the charity’s main source of income and is now offering a wide range of special offers and discounts to boost its fundraising efforts.
Profits support the rehoming of cats and kittens throughout the local area.
Bargains include a clearance sale of winter stock with many clothes available for just a pound, and shoes and handbags at half the marked price. Offers also include ‘buy two, get one free’ on books, ‘buy one, get one free’ on DVDs, and boxsets at half the marked price. Jewellery and toys are also available.
Trust chair Tracy Waldron is delighted the shop has reopened. She said, “We’re a small charity, made up entirely of volunteers, so the series of lockdowns had a huge impact on our fundraising.
“The money from the shop helps to pay for veterinary treatment, food, litter and other bills for the cats and kittens under our care.
“Some have been abandoned, others come to us due to a change in the owner’s personal situation such as separation, relocation or unemployment, but we always try to find a new ‘forever home’ for as many animals as possible.
“Therefore we’re keen to welcome back all of our regular customers, as well as plenty of new faces who perhaps haven’t visited us before.
“They’re bound to find a bargain – sometimes the donations even include designer labels!”
The shop is open on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am-3.30pm, with additional trading hours dependent on volunteer availability.
All donations are quarantined and cleaned prior to going on display, and volunteers are provided with masks, gloves and visors.
Customer numbers are being limited to help with social distancing, and hand sanitiser is available at the door. Payment is taken from behind a protective screen at the till – but card payments are currently unavailable.
The team are currently keen to receive spring and summer clothes, with guidance on donations available at www.catsactiontrust.org. uk/shop – please do not leave donations on the doorstep.
The charity is also keen to hear from potential volunteers who can help with sorting and pricing the stock, steaming clothes, arranging displays and serving customers. Email catsactiontrust@gmail.com to arrange a chat.
![Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.](https://scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.75761-15/505444438_18038424887647822_3264519508333556874_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=gXZQJoHTNiEQ7kNvwHezuPI&_nc_oc=AdlrJvMDapuork_EjycPOcegNeMnCA37GEIudkxkTeCfTgvB5iijE05ojpwlYCd5gN8&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=0ZY31jxOGx2M8z1ZqYNvEg&oh=00_AfPY_C0B8EndpVcx78sVp9qVJgtm368WREf36ZX1_jO3mg&oe=6855C74A "Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.")
