East Anglia's Children's Hospices expecting "swell" of donations
The charity's shops will reopen tomorrow (12 April) in line with the easing of coronavirus restrictions
Last updated 11th Apr 2021
East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) is expecting to be inundated with donations when non-essential retail reopens.
The charity is basing its expectations on experience, after getting almost a week's worth of donations in a day when it reopened stores last year.
To avoid a build up within shops, people are being urged to call ahead to ensure there is enough space to donate items.
Sarah Throssell, EACH Acting Head of Retail, said:
"We hope people will appreciate every shop will only be able to take so many donations before storage becomes an issue and the environment for staff and volunteers starts to become unsafe.
"While we have vans on the roads and helping move items to and from our larger retail distribution centre, there may be days we need to consider limiting donations, so we’re strongly advising supporters to call ahead to their nearest shop and check it’s a good time to drop things in."
The reopening of non-essential retail on 12 April is also being marked with the opening of EACH's first shop in Hertfordshire, which will be located in Royston.
Its eBay and Amazon stores will also be returning, and the charity announced its new boutique last week, Style With EACH, which can be found on ASOS Marketplace.
Sarah continued: "Although these are positive and exciting times for us, there is still a lot to do as we expect high street retail to be depressed over the coming year and estimate a shortfall of £1.2 million in retail income against pre-COVID trading predictions."
Numbers for EACH shops can be found on the charity's website.