Category: Charity Shops

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice discovers super glue in their Sleaford charity shop lock

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice is appealing for witnesses after it’s shop on Lincoln Road in Sleaford was targeted twice in two weeks by vandals, causing £750 worth of damage.

The Sleaford shop had its security shutters super glued between 5pm on Saturday 28th February and 8am on Monday 2nd March when the shop manager discovered super glue inside the key hole.

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

“We are deeply saddened that our shop in Sleaford has been targeted twice in two weeks by vandals super gluing our locks. The cost of replacing the locks and then having a new shutter system installed is £750, a huge and unnecessary expenditure for the hospice.

“Our workforce work tirelessly all year to ensure that we raise the £4 million we need to provide specialist end of life care to the people of Lincolnshire.”

This is the second incident of vandalism at the hospice in the past two weeks.

Caroline said: “This senseless act of vandalism is not only a major inconvenience but also very distressing to our staff and volunteers who work so hard for the hospice.

“We have now had a new shutter system installed that does not require a traditional key. I just hope that with the help of our local community we can discover who is behind this vandalism.”

The local community has come together to show their support in the wake of charity shop burglary

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are praising the local business community and general public for their outpouring of support following their Lincoln High Street shop break-in where over £400 was stolen.

The incident took place between 20th and 21st November when intruders gained access through the roof of the shop. The offenders then doused the office in bleach and made off with money from the safe.

Since the burglary St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice has been inundated with messages of support and offers of help.

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

“We were absolutely devastated when we learned of the burglary and in particular the mindless destruction they had caused to our premises. It was heart-breaking to see, particularly as our staff and volunteers put their heart and soul into ensuring the High Street store is of the highest quality.

“The support we have received since has been absolutely amazing and it really goes to show that senseless crimes such as this will not deter us from our dedication to provide end of life care.”

The local charity has received many donations from the general public plus an anonymous donation of £250 from one individual.

Over £2,000 of damage was caused to the roof which was repaired free of charge by local roofing company Graham Nicholson Roofing Ltd. A new CCTV system is due to be fitted by Sleaford firm IP-Connect and a state-of-the art alarm system is also being donated by Lincoln’s Vulcan Fire and Security Ltd.

Caroline said: “We are extremely grateful for all the support we have received and have been taken aback by the sheer generosity of the Lincolnshire community. We have seen donations to our shop increase and have received so many warm wishes.

“The help and assistance from local businesses has been second to none and the security firms we are working with will help to secure our shop from any future break-ins.”

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice invites the local community to join them in celebrating their 26th shop opening

A brand new St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice shop is set to open on Wragby Road in Lincoln. The new shop – the 26th run by the charity – was awarded to the Lincolnshire hospice after they won the public vote in the Tesco ‘Yours for a Year’ competition.

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice will celebrate the grand opening of its new shop on Saturday 16th August at 10am with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the City Sherriff and Lady.

Phil Brandon, Commercial Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“This is a brilliant location for our new shop and puts us right in the heart of the community we serve. Our shop will specialise in clothes and fashion accessories but we will also stock a host of other items including books, toys, furniture and household items.

“The expansion of our retail shops division will mean that we can raise awareness of our organisation whilst allowing us to generate vital funds to continue caring for people across Lincolnshire.”

Opening day will feature events for all the family and will be hosted by Barnabas Bear, the charity’s mascot. There will be a raffle and games plus free giveaways of sweets and balloons.

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are appealing for more volunteers to join their team at Wragby Road. Young people aged 16 – 25 are encouraged to apply and are offered the opportunity to work towards retail qualifications.

Phil concludes: “We can’t thank Tesco and the people of Lincoln enough for giving us this opportunity. We have had nothing but kind words and support from our local community, from the point of winning the competition to readying ourselves for the official opening.

“Our wonderful team of staff and volunteers are eagerly looking forward to welcoming each and every supporter into our new shop and begin raising even more money for hospice care.”

Hospice at Home team from Lincoln North celebrate the Tesco win

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice wins Tesco unit worth £45,000 after winning a public vote

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice has won the ‘Yours for a Year’ competition worth £45,000, beating off opposition from two other Lincolnshire charities, before winning a public vote.

The Lincolnshire hospice has won a unit at Tesco’s new Wragby Road site rent free for one year. The charity has been campaigning to win the coveted prize since January 2014, when they successfully answered a brief about how they would create job opportunities for young people aged 16 and 25 in Lincoln, before being shortlisted for the public vote.

Phil Brandon, Commercial Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to have won the ‘Yours for a Year’ competition and would like to thank our supporters and the Lincolnshire public for getting behind our bid and taking the time to vote for us.

“The opportunity to run a retail unit in such a prominent location will be a real benefit to our organisation and the people we care for. The unit is worth a potential £50,000 in annual income which would allow us to care and support a greater number of people across Lincolnshire.”

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice is a local independent charity caring for over 6,000 people a year who are seriously ill and living with a life-limiting illness. The organisation provides specialised care through an 11 bed inpatient unit, day therapy centres and bereavement support.

Phil said: “This opportunity means that not only can we assist more families in making the most of every second they have together but we can also directly impact the young people in our society. It will be our aim to assist the young people of Lincoln back into the work place by encouraging younger volunteers and working closely alongside the education services to support young people in retail apprenticeships.

Phil concludes: “Our organisation is thirty-two years old and we have been fortunate throughout that time to receive amazing support from our community and winning this public vote is testament to that. We are looking forward to seeing our supporters in our new store when it opens shortly. We really couldn’t have done it without the public and it is with their help that we are able to continue our care throughout Lincolnshire.”

Hospice at Home team from Lincoln North

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice is battling to win coveted Tesco retail prize and asks the Lincolnshire public to back their bid

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice is urging the local community to get behind their bid to win the ‘Yours for a Year’ competition worth £45,000. The highly coveted prize would see St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice receive one rent-free year in a unit at Tesco’s new Wragby Road site.

The local Lincolnshire hospice was shortlisted for the prize after successfully answering a brief which was to explain how they would successfully run a unit with the aim of supporting and providing job opportunities for young people aged between 16 and 25 in Lincoln.

Phil Brandon, Commercial Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said:

“St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice has a long history of encouraging young people to get involved with fundraising and volunteering, and offers great support and encouragement for them to reach their potential and succeed.

“’Yours for a Year’ is a fantastic opportunity for us to assist the young people of Lincoln back into the work place. We have already started to employ retail apprentices and become involved in work placements for schools; we are encouraging younger volunteers to join us and are supporting them whilst they take relevant qualifications.”

Phil added: “We intend to further strengthen our involvement with the education services to encourage young adult placements. We will encourage partnerships with students and young entrepreneurs and work with them to display their products or practice their skills.”

A public vote will determine the winner for the ‘Yours for a Year’ competition with voting forms available weekly from the Lincolnshire Echo and the Tesco Wragby Road store where they can also be handed in for counting. Forms can also be handed in to any St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice shop, voting will close on Friday 2nd May and the winner of the competition will be announced in the Echo on Thursday 8th May.

Phil concludes: “Young people in the workplace are a real asset as they have so much to offer, from youthful exuberance, boundless positivity and a plethora of new ideas. It would be utterly fantastic to win the ‘Yours for a Year’ competition and play an active part in creating chances for the young people in our community.”

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice opens their second retail store in support of their Louth and District partnership

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are opening a dedicated charity book store in Louth’s town centre. The store will open its doors to the public on Monday 17th March at 9am. The store, which is located at 109 Eastgate, will house over 3,000 titles, from literacy greats such as Arthur Conan Doyle to Emile Zola. In addition to books the store will also stock games, CD’s, DVD’s and a range of giftware.

The new bookshop is the second St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice shop to open in Louth with the flagship store located a short distance away at 59 Eastgate, next to Argos.

Phil Brandon, Commercial Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said: “The bookshop is in a wonderful location and is in the midst of Louth’s busy shopping district. We hope that the Louth community will benefit from having a dedicated bookshop with an eclectic mix of genres and titles that will appeal to a wide range of book lovers.”

The store will be open Monday to Saturday 9am – 4.30pm and will be run by a team of staff and volunteers.

Phil said: “We are currently recruiting new volunteers to join us in the running of our new bookshop. We would love to hear from people who have a passion for books and who would like to volunteer some of their time to us. 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 ca continue to provide our specialist support and care.”

The charity has continued to increase their retail presence within Louth to support their partnership with Louth and District Hospice.

Last year saw St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice take the responsibility of providing and developing all care services delivered from the Louth hospice building.

The link-up builds on a platform of greater joint working across Lincolnshire involving providers of specialist care and support the growing number of people living with life-limiting illnesses.

Chief Executive of St Barnabas Hospice, Sarah-Jane Mills, said: “We already provide an expanding range of specialist services to the people of East Lindsey as well as the wider Lincolnshire community. But to be able to draw upon the many benefits of the new centre – and reach out to more people and help them live well when they are dying – adds an extra dimension to our work.”

Sarah concludes: “By joining forces, the new arrangement is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. It maximises all our strengths and, with an established infrastructure in place, enables us to avoid duplication and wastage so that every penny donated can be channelled to where it is needed most.”