|
Four charity shops in Dorset are set to be transformed into new 'community-focused' charity shops based on an award-winning model piloted in Salisbury. The new shops will be run by The Trussell Trust, a Salisbury based charity that launched Bournemouth foodbank and runs nationally acclaimed community projects across the UK and in Bulgaria. The Trussell Trust is urgently seeking volunteers from Dorset to help make the new community-focused shops a success.
The Trussell Trust's Director of Operations, David McAuley writes: 'It's amazing the difference that you can make to people's lives through a charity shop. As well as raising funds, The Trussell Trust believes that charity shops are a great place for people of all backgrounds and abilities to volunteer and for people facing tough times to come in and chat. We have seen so many lives changed by our ReStore shop in Salisbury that we want other communities to benefit from our community-focused charity shops too.'
He continues: 'Pramacare gave us the opportunity to take on four of their shops in Dorset so we thought this would be a great place to start. We want each shop to help its local community, but for that to happen we need local volunteers to get involved.'
'There's a lot of work to do to transform these shops into ReStore's, which is why we are urgently looking for some passionate and energetic volunteers!'
Last year The Trussell Trust's Salisbury shop 'ReStore' beat competition from 6,800 UK charity shops, including major high street names, to win the national Association of Charity Shops prestigious 'Shop Team of the Year' award. The judges were impressed by the inclusiveness of the Trust's shop and the way that it made time for people, creating a welcoming, family environment whilst still providing quality, well-priced goods. The Trust's vision for ReStore is to replicate this successful model across the UK, seeing more people helped nationwide, starting in Dorset.
ReStore shops are now open in Salisbury, Verwood and Winton, with new shops in Ferndown and Canford Heath soon to launch. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Lizzie Abnett on 01722 427111 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
2010-02-19
|
