St Barnabas Hospice’s flagship charity shop The Warehouse in uphill Lincoln is celebrating its first year in business on 10th February, and what a year it’s been – over 120,000 items were sold, generating £410,000 in sales, which goes towards supporting hospice care.
With over 5,000 square feet of shopping space, The Warehouse is choc-a-bloc with great items at low prices, including clothing, homeware, furniture, vinyl records, books and much more.
You will also find a display unit highlighting items currently on auction on the St Barnabas eBay shop, as well as racks of pre-loved, branded vintage items on Depop.
Emma-Jayne Parker, manager at The Warehouse, says: “We have been blown away by the incredible support given to us since we first opened our doors. People of all ages and interests visit us and find great bargains, and it’s not just those who live locally, but also further away in Lincolnshire.
“We have many regulars coming to The Warehouse to browse our thousands of items, as the stock is constantly changing thanks to the high-quality donations we receive. If you would like to drop off donations, you can book a slot online via our Book & Bring system so we know when to expect your items.
“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has made our first year such a success, including all donors, shoppers, staff, and of course our brilliant volunteers. We couldn’t run this shop without them, and they have given us over 4,000 hours of their time in the past 12 months.
“We are always looking for more volunteers who can help us sort through donations, put items on the shop floor or man the tills. It’s so much fun, we’ve got a great team here and each volunteer can choose in which area they would like to work.
“We’d love to hear from anyone over the age of 14 with a can-do attitude, who would like to gain new skills, meet new people, and support their local Hospice.”
If you are interested in volunteering, you can sign up via the St Barnabas website here: www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/get-involved/volunteer
The Warehouse opened in February 2022, after months of renovations to the former donation sorting point for all of St Barnabas Hospice’s shops around the county. The charity’s ambitious plans to open its biggest shop have paid off, and it is designed with sustainability and accessibility in mind.
Caroline Peach, Head of Retail says: “Sustainability is key, sometimes we receive low quality items which we can’t sell but we don’t just dispose of them; these items get recycled. This year we’ve recycled over 38,000 kilos of unsellable stock, saving huge amounts of items from going to landfill and supporting the circular economy.
“It is very important to us that our shops are accessible for everyone, and we made sure that The Warehouse has extra wide walkways, ramp access, and smooth flooring across the store for the best shopping experience.
“We’re also very proud of the success of Gift Aid, a government initiative where for every £1 we generate in sales in our shops, we can claim an extra 25p from HMRC at no extra cost to the customer. Through this scheme, this year we’ve raised an extra £14,000 for Hospice care from The Warehouse alone. When people drop off donations, they can let us know they would like to participate, we just need a quick minute to set this up and it really helps your donations go even further.
“We are so very grateful to everyone who has supported us in this past year, and we can’t wait to see what this upcoming year will bring for The Warehouse. Make sure to come by soon and see the shop for yourself!”
You can find out more about The Warehouse, including the Book & Bring donation system and volunteering opportunities, by visiting: www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/shop/warehouse