Charity shops are back with a bang!

CHARITY shops in Melksham have reported getting back to business with a bang after reopening on Monday April 12th.

The Dorothy House shops in Church Street, Cats Action Trust in Bath Road, Harmony and Wiltshire MIND in the High Street, and Barnardos in Verbena Court have all reported good trade. 

The shops have also seen a flood of donations after people used the lockdowns to clear out their homes which has been welcomed although it means extra volunteers would be welcome to help cope.

The shops have also requested that people make an appointment to drop off donations rather than leave their donations outside when the shops are closed.

“It’s been a fantastic for sales and donations,” said manager of Dorothy House Furniture Store, Hugh Morrison. “Here’s hoping that the momentum, the excitement, keeps going. Our first day back was unbelievable and it hasn’t let up.”

Colleague and manager of  the Dorothy House charity shop, Ula Skowronska, said, “It’s been very busy – both sales and donations for the shop. It’s great to be open again – the town feels busy too – people on the streets, more traffic.”

Donations have been so numerous and frequent since the store reopened on Monday (April 12th) that the storage area is full to overflowing,  Ula said.

“We were open for three months between lockdowns and both then and now we  had loads of donations – this time even more than last,

“This time people have been good at bringing stuff into the shop but last time we returned to work to find stuff left outside. If it rains it gets damaged but also the public had gone through the stuff in the bags and taken what they wanted. What was left was unsaleable.”

It was then left to the shop to dispose of the unsaleable items. “We had to get rid of it,” Ula said. 

The store currently has 20 volunteers but Ula said they could use more at weekends and were always happy to chat with anyone who wanted to help out. Telephone 01225 700990.

Manager of the Wiltshire Mind charity shop, Bev Harris, said, “It’s been brilliant to reopen and great to see so many people in the shop supporting our charity. Mental health is so important at the moment – look how lockdown has affected so many people’s mental health.”

At Barnardo’s in Verbena Court a booking system for people to bring in donations was already in place after they experienced a surge after the previous lockdown. 

Manager, Helen West, told Melksham News, “It hasn’t been too bad this time round. We didn’t have anything left outside the front of the shop so we’ve been very lucky.

“People can phone or pop in to arrange a time to bring donations in. We get a lot of donations because of where we are.”

Helen said five volunteers had returned to the shop to work since it had reopened and she has just taken on a sixth to help with the workload. Anyone interested in volunteering at Barnado’s can register their interest online at  www.volunteer.barnardos.org.uk

The Cats Action Trust shop has been busy with  Trust chair, Tracy Waldron, delighted that 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!”

At Harmony in High Street, which provides music classes for local children, the manager Hannah Pescod said they had had a “nice trickle” of donations coming in.

“We’ve been quite lucky really, Hannah told Melksham News. “We have five volunteers and they’ve all come back to us after lockdown – I think they were happy to be able to get out again and back to normal. 

“We have a sixth volunteer, a lovely lady who has a lot of health problems so she hasn’t come back yet, but her space is always saved for her when she returns.”

Hannah said during the previous lockdown she had her brother James were at the shop every day, repainting and getting it ready for reopening, and donations were being left outside. 

“Luckily none were left at the front, we have an area at the back with a porch where people left stuff. There was always some treasure to find in the bags even if some of the stuff was unsaleable,” Hannah said.

Now when people come by and say they have items to donate Hannah suggests a specific day so things stay organised.

James added, “We had a busy day Monday (April 12th) as far as people coming in and sales were concerned. We were closed throughout lockdown so it’s been good to get back into the shop.”