Category: Charity Shops

From left to right: Julie Laughton, Jean Carlton and Emma Bonnett

A “big-hearted” volunteer has been praised for going the extra mile for her customers and donating her time to help others

Jean Carlton, 76, from Lincoln has been volunteering at The Forum shop in Lincoln for 10 years.

Regular customer, Julie Laughton, has paid tribute to the charity’s kind-hearted volunteer who has become a firm friend.

Julie said: “I work as a Day Time Provider for Adults Supporting Adults and assist clients like Emma who have learning difficulties. Reading is something she has a real passion for and therefore visiting the bookshop is something she really enjoys.

“We are always met by friendly faces who warmly welcome us in and Jean, in particular, goes out of her way to make our visit that extra bit special. Nothing is ever too much trouble and she often puts books, CD’s and DVD’s aside for my clients that she knows they will enjoy.

“Jean is a wonderful woman who I am honoured to have met and who I think of as a real friend, she is a very special lady.”

Julie is a keen supporter of St Barnabas Hospice and each year she attends their annual Light Up a Life fundraiser in memory of her mum.

Julie said: “My Mum passed away four years ago and in her final days she was cared for at home by an amazing team of nurses from St Barnabas.

“They cared for Mum with such compassion and the support and kindness they offered me and my family was crucial at such a difficult time. They gave me the strength I needed to be there for my mum at the end.

“I’ll always remember one of the nurses telling me that one day I’d look back on that time and remember it as being a privilege to have spent those final moments with her.

“This is something that has stayed with me and I realise now that she was right. Although it was an incredibly sad time, to be able to spend those last days with her is something I will always cherish and hold dear.”

As a way of giving something back to the charity, Julie often donates her unwanted belongings in addition to being an avid shopper.

Julie said: “I have been so impressed by the choice of goods and level of service I receive when I come here that I have introduced many friends and family to the shop.

“St Barnabas is an amazing organisation who I am incredibly proud to support and Jean perfectly personifies the caring nature of everyone I have met at the organisation.

“She is truly a special lady with a big heart.”

The shop at The Forum in North Hykeham in Lincoln

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice celebrates first anniversary of its shop at The Forum in Lincoln

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are inviting the local community to celebrate the first anniversary of its charity shop in North Hykeham, Lincoln which has turned over in excess of £167,000 in its first year of trading.

The shop, which is located at The Forum in North Hykeham, will host a birthday celebration on Wednesday 8th June to mark the anniversary. The hospice Chief Executive, Chris Wheway, will be at the shop at 10am to get the celebrations underway.

Shoppers can indulge in a slice of cake and try their luck on the tombola and raffle.

Caroline Peach, Retail Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“It has been a real pleasure to work alongside the Lincoln community and we would like to take this opportunity to show our gratitude for their generosity and support of our shop and hospice services.

“The money raised helps to fund the care and support that is provided across the county and right here in Lincoln. The demand for our hospice services continues to rise throughout the county and we are proud to be able to take the quality of our care to new heights.”

The Forum shop opened after St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice merged their flagship shop and the Storyteller bookshop last year. They have had a shop at the shopping precinct for 23 years.

The shop spans two floors with clothing, toys, household items and new goods on the ground floor. Upstairs there is a dedicated book shop stocking a wide range of books from an assortment of genres. In the 12 months since the shop opened more than 32,000 books have been sold to their loyal supporter base.

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice currently has 27 shops across the county and collectively they raise in excess of £500,000. Like many of the shops, The Forum shop is managed by a team of paid staff and volunteers.

Caroline said: “Our dedicated team of staff and volunteers have worked hard to ensure our shop is a success. Their commitment ensures that we are able to continue providing our specialist care across the county.”

The Forum shop in North Hykeham is open from 9am – 4.30pm, Monday to Saturday.

At a glance summary of the first 12 months for the shop at The Forum:

• £167,000 plus £5,000 in Gift Aid income

• Sold 68,000 items

• Including 32,000 books

• Sold over 500 hospice scratch cards

• Served over 600 cups of tea and coffee

The new shop preparing for its opening on Saturday 16th April

St Barnabas Hospice set to open its ninth charity shop in Lincoln in support of the growing demand for hospice services in the area

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are opening their 27th charity shop on Lincoln’s High Street, next to the new pedestrian bridge. The shop will be opened by the hospice chief executive, Chris Wheway on Saturday 16th April at 10am.

The shop will be the ninth in Lincoln and will stock a mix of fashion including vintage and retro pieces in addition to books, music, and household items. The shop will also sell new merchandise including handbags, accessories and gift ideas.

Caroline Peach, Retail Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“We are delighted to be opening our new store in the heart of Lincoln’s busy shopping district. Our fabulous new-look store will guarantee a wonderful shopping experience that will become a firm favourite with locals and visitors.

“The money raised from sales at our shop will help to support our hospice services in Lincoln and right across the county. The demand for our hospice services is continuing to grow and we are proud to be able to support that growth and take the quality of palliative care to new heights.”

The store will open seven days a week, Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm, and Sunday 10am to 4pm and will be run by a team of staff and volunteers. The charity is currently appealing for new volunteers to join their growing team.

Caroline said: “We are appealing to our local community to donate their time and help in the running of our new shop. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organisation and we depend of their selfless dedication to be able to deliver our hospice services across the county.

“Volunteering is a wonderful way for people to learn new skills, boost their CV and give something back to their community. All of our volunteers receive training and hands-on experience within the retail industry.”

For more information about volunteering contact 01522 518 221 or email volunteering@stbarnabashospice.co.uk

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice celebrates first anniversary of Boston charity shop

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are inviting the local community to celebrate the first anniversary of its charity shop in Boston which has turned over £94,000 in its first year of trading.

The shop, which is located at 48 Market Place, will host a birthday celebration on Wednesday 16th March to mark the anniversary. A celebratory coffee morning will be held from 9.30am to 1.30pm.

The Mayor of Boston, Councillor Richard Austin and the hospice chief executive, Chris Wheway, will be at the shop from 11am to get the celebrations underway. Shoppers can indulge in a cup of tea and a slice of cake and try their luck on the tombola.

Caroline Peach, Retail Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“It has been a real pleasure to work alongside the Boston community and we would like to take this opportunity to show our gratitude for their generosity and support of our shop and hospice services.

“The money raised helps to fund the care and support that is provided across Boston from our base at Mayflower Lodge on Green Lane. The demand for our hospice services continues to rise throughout Boston and we are proud to be able to take the quality of our care to new heights.”

The shop spans two floors with clothing, toys, household items and new goods on the ground floor. Upstairs there is a dedicated book shop stocking a wide range of books from an assortment of genres. In the 12 months since the shop opened more than 6,000 books have been sold to their loyal supporter base.

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice currently has 26 shops across the county and collectively they raise in excess of £500,000. Like many of the shops the Boston shop is managed by a team of paid staff and volunteers.

Caroline said: “Our dedicated team of staff and volunteers have worked hard to ensure our shop is a success. Their commitment ensures that we are able to continue providing our specialist care across Boston.”

The shop is open from 9am – 4.30pm, Monday to Saturday.

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice celebrates second anniversary of Louth bookshop

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are inviting the local community to celebrate the second anniversary of its bookshop in Louth which has turned over £50,000 since it first opened its doors.

To mark the occasion the charity shop on Eastgate is hosting a week of celebrations from 7th March, which includes a tombola with a host of prizes

On Wednesday, the hospice Chief Executive, Chris Wheway, will be at the shop to cut a special birthday cake which will be shared amongst shoppers throughout the day.

Caroline Peach, Retail Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“It has been a real pleasure to work alongside the East Lindsey community and we would like to take this opportunity to show our gratitude for their generosity and support of our shop and hospice services.

“The money raised helps to fund the care and support that is provided from our Louth hospice on Grimsby Road. Every month the hospice has been getting busier and busier and we are proud to be able to take the quality of care to new heights.”

The bookshop stocks books from a spectrum of genres including fiction, children’s literature and gardening. In the two years the shop has been open more than 33,000 books have been sold with more than 200 customers visiting the shop each week.

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice currently has 26 shops across the county and collectively they raise in excess of £500,000. Like many of the shops the Louth bookshop is managed by a team of paid staff and volunteers.

Caroline said: “I am so proud of all our hard-working members of staff and volunteers and for their commitment to the shop. Their dedication allows for our hospice services to grow and for more improvements to keep St Barnabas at the forefront of end-of-life care across East Lindsey.”

The bookshop is located on Eastgate in Louth and is open from 9am – 4.30pm, Monday to Saturday.

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice celebrate first anniversary of Wragby Road shop

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are celebrating a successful first year of their shop on Wragby Road in Lincoln and their supporters are being invited to a special birthday celebration.

The celebration event will be held on Saturday 5th September and will include a raffle and tombola with a host of prizes from local retailers.

The hospice shop opened in August last year after the local charity won the unit rent-free for one year in the Tesco ‘Yours for a Year’ competition.

Caroline Peach, Retail Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“We are delighted by how well our hospice shop has been received by the local community who have continued to support us since our competition win. Our first year trading has been extremely successful with over 25,000 items sold and turnover in excess of £105,000.

“The shop has proven to play a vital role in funding the work of the hospice and the prime location has provided our supporters with an easy way to get involved. After taking all this into consideration, we decided to renew our lease with Tesco and continue to rent the shop for at least another year.”

Alex Boak, Store Manger at Tesco Lincoln Extra, said:

“We are delighted that St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice is celebrating its first year by renewing its lease with Tesco. We wanted to create a space for the community with our redeveloped Wragby Road store and help provide opportunities for local young people by offering a unit rent-free for a year for a charity or community group.

“The fact that the St Barnabas store has gone on to be a successful and self-sustaining operation is testament to why we decided to run ‘Yours for a Year’ competition in the first place. We are particularly pleased that over the past year, the store has supported two retail apprentices in completing their studies and ultimately provided them with permanent employment.

“We hope that St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice continues to enjoy the same success in the coming year.”

The hospice operates 26 shops across Lincolnshire and is committed to providing a high quality shopping experience and to maximising the money raised in each shop. Like many of the other shops the Wragby Road shop is run by a mixture of paid staff and volunteers.

Caroline said:

“Our management team at Wragby Road are looking forward to building on the shops first successful year. They have been working hard as part of a team alongside our dedicated volunteers who have donated 3,000 hours of their time.”

The hospice shop has also supported two apprentices in their studies with both completing their NVQ Level 1 in Customer Service.

Caroline concludes:

“The shop has allowed us to continue to grow and support our local community and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has supported us, either by donating their unwanted goods or purchasing items from us.

“We are looking forward o the year ahead and continuing to provide our customers with the products they want.”

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice looks for the highest bidder for 1970’s vintage compact leisure cruiser

Lincoln, 20th August 2015 – Local independent charity St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are delighted with their recent donation of a 37-year-old Cabin Cruiser which currently has a bid for over £1,000 on their eBay auction.

Dennis Collins, 88, from Birchwood in Lincoln has many fond memories of the boat which he donated after it spent 15 years on dry land.

Dennis said: “Boating was always a keen interest of mine and in 1978 I decided to buy the boat from new. It was a marvellous investment and my wife Betty and I enjoyed many holidays along the canal routes across the UK.

“After sharing all of these happy memories it seemed a waste to just let the boat go to ruin. It seemed only right that somebody else got the chance to enjoy it too.”

The boat was brought onto dry land 15 years ago after Dennis was diagnosed with cancer and became unable to maintain the upkeep.

Dennis said: “I decided to donate the boat to St Barnabas because they are a local charity who I hold close to my heart. Their care and support was invaluable to a very close friend of mine who was cared for in her final days.

“It is nice to think that the boat could bring somebody else joy and at the same time help to make a difference to those who really need it.”

The boat is currently under auction on eBay and has received 10 bids with the highest bid currently at £1,020. The auction is due to end on Sunday 23rd August.

Matt Howes, eBay & Online Shops Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“Our eBay business plays an integral part in our fundraising activities and in the last 12 months we have sold over 1,500 items with sales exceeding £33,000. We use eBay to sell the more unique items that we receive and it always proves to be a popular method.

“We are very grateful to people like Mr Collins whose sheer generosity allows us to continue raising much needed money for our hospice.”

The boat can be found on eBay at: http://www.ebay.com/itm/381346787076

Caroline Peach – Retail Manager

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice announces plans to merge existing North Hykeham shops together.

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice owned bookshop The Storyteller and their other flagship shop based at The Forum in North Hykeham, Lincoln are to move premises this June.

The hospice bookshop, which opened around 21 years ago is joining forces with the charity’s other shop to relocate to the vacated Barclays on the same shopping precinct.

The Storyteller will reside in the space upstairs which is large enough to house the entire existing book collection with room for future expansion.

The new look St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice shop will open on 6th June at 10am by staff and volunteers from both shops who will now be working side by side.

Caroline Peach, Retail Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“The Storyteller is a popular destination for many within the local community and we are working hard to ensure that when the two shops merge the unique personality of the bookshop is not lost.

“Supporters can expect to find the same quality and variety of books and will be greeted by the familiar faces of staff and volunteers who will be working at the new site. Shoppers unable to climb the stairs will be assisted by our workforce who will retrieve books on their behalf.”

The new St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice shop will open from Monday to Saturday, 9am – 4.30pm.

Caroline said: “The rising rent costs incurred by the two shops meant that merging them together made economical sense. I would like to thank all of our supporters at both sites and hope that they will get behind our new venture. Now even more money can go directly towards delivering end of life care across Lincolnshire.”

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice is appealing for witnesses to come forward following two shop break-ins.

Thieves forced entry through a rear toilet window at their Ruskington shop before prising the safe from the wall and making off with £200 in cash.

The intruders also stole the keys to their neighbouring bookshop and raided that, prising the safe from the wall in a similar manner. The break-ins happened overnight on Monday 18th May and resulted in both shops being unable to open on Tuesday.

Caroline Peach, Retail Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“It is so upsetting that people would choose to target our shops and steal money that directly helps to care for people who are living with life-limiting illnesses.

“Not only did they steal the float money but they also stole a sum of money that had been collected for a volunteers leaving present. It is also going to cost us in excess of £200 to replace the window, safes and locks.

“We have also lost a days taking from both shops as we had to remain closed whilst the scene of crime officers investigated and took prints. All of this is a huge and unnecessary expenditure to the hospice.”

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are appealing for anyone with information to come forward and contact crime stoppers on 101 and quote incident 51.

Caroline said: “Senseless crime such as this is so disheartening to our dedicated workforce who work tirelessly to help raise the £4 million our hospice needs to continue its services.

“We just hope that with the help of our local community we can find who is responsible for these crimes and ensure they are brought to justice.”

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice is set to open a charity shop in Boston in support of the growing demand for services in this area

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are opening their twenty-sixth charity shop in Boston’s town centre. The shop, which is located at 48 Market Place, will open to the public on Saturday 14th March at 10.30am.

The shop will span two floors with clothing, toys, household items and new goods on the ground floor. Upstairs there will be a dedicated book shop stocking a wide range of books from an assortment of genres.

Caroline Peach, Retail Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“The new shop is in a wonderful location and is in the midst of Boston’s busy shopping district. We hope that the Boston community will benefit from the large range of quality goods we have to offer and that it will become a regular shopping spot for locals and visitors.”

The store will open Monday to Saturday 9am – 4.30pm and will be run by a team of staff and volunteers. The charity is looking for volunteers to join their dedicated team and help out in the new shop

Caroline said: “We are currently recruiting new volunteers to join us in the running of our new shop. Full training will be given and sorting donated stock and serving customers are just some of the duties required.

“Volunteers are so highly regarded at St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice as they are the lifeblood of the organisation and with their hard work and commitment we can continue to provide our specialist support and care.”

For more information about volunteering contact the charity directly on 01522 518 221 or email volunteering@stbarnabashospice.co.uk