Lockdown hasn’t stopped donations flooding into shop
A children’s charity is ‘bursting at the seams’ with donations thanks to loyal supporters.
As lockdown has eased, Barnardo’s Scotland has started a phased opening of stores including those in Linwood and Barrhead.
Andi Gilmour, area business manager for the shops in Renfrewshire, said: “As well as the volume of donations, due to post lockdown safety regulations, all stock must be quarantined for 72 hours before it can be sorted, which takes up valuable space in the shop.
“A number of volunteers have not yet returned to the charity which means less hands to sort donations, and fewer staff and volunteers are able to work together due to social distancing - so it’s not surprising that some stores have found themselves bursting at the seams.”
To help manage this, the charity is advising customers to call their local store before taking any donations to ensure the shop is able to take the items.
Andi added: “When items are donated to a shop our colleagues will be wearing PPE - gloves and aprons – and they will quarantine the goods in a safe and secure storage area for 72 hours.
“Each item will be date stamped so we know exactly when it came in to the shop. After the quarantine period is over the goods will be put out on the shop floor.”
As their shops have reopened, Barnardo’s Scotland has reported donations have been flooding in.
While the teams are incredibly grateful to their customers’ loyalty - holding on to their donations until their shops open - they have reported that some shops are at capacity by lunchtime and are unable to take any further donations.
Martin Crewe, director of Barnardo’s Scotland, explained: “We have shops across Scotland, including those in Barrhead and Linwood, which are hugely important to funding our community-based services which support vulnerable children and families in many different ways.
“The closure of our shops has had a significant impact on our ability to raise funds for those services.
“At the same time, the effects of the pandemic meant the demand for our services was at its greatest in recent years, so we were keen to reopen our stores as quickly and efficiently as possible – but making sure they were safe for our customers.”
Despite all of the new measures and extra work that has been needed, the charity is delighted to be trading again and welcoming customers back in to their stores.
Martin added: “It’s great to see customers return to our stores, over the whole week sales in our shops were only 30 per cent lower than normal.
“This was to be expected as footfall in the high streets is lower than pre-pandemic and our shops are operating with slightly reduced hours - 10am to 4pm rather than 9am to 5pm.
“I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to our customers for their continued support, it is very much appreciated.”
New measures to protect customers, staff and volunteers include Perspex screens at till points, hand sanitiser stations at the entrance stores; restricted customer numbers; social distancing and changing rooms remaining closed.
To find your local store or find out about volunteering opportunities, go online to barnardos.org.uk/scotland
Thank you to all our customers for their continued support, it’s appreciated