2nd February 2011
Do you need to spring clean your home? Do you have any unwanted goods that you don’t know what to do with? Do you need to get rid of your old possessions to make way for gifts you received at Christmas? Then why not donate them to your local children’s hospice.
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices is urging everyone to take part in the ‘Clear out your clutter’ campaign to raise much-needed funds to provide vital care and support for local life-threatened children and their families.
EACH needs to raise £4m in voluntary donations to deliver their services this year, and donating unwanted goods to be sold in EACH shops is a great way to help the charity reach that figure.
Trevor Bailey, head of EACH retail, said: “Retail is an incredibly valuable income stream for EACH, which continues to grow, and we are incredibly grateful to our supporters who donate goods.
“We are very flexible and accept a vast array of donations for sale in EACH shops, endeavouring to recycle any that can’t be sold, and arranging collection for larger items if needed.
“So why not clear out your clutter and help EACH continue to provide vital care and support to life-threatened children and their families.”
EACH funds are generated from a variety of sources, including donations, sponsorship, legacies and also EACH retail, which includes sales from donated goods at EACH shops and EACH merchandise such as Christmas cards.
For the financial year March 2010- March 2011 EACH retail sales are expected to reach £1.2m, compared with £850,000 in 09-10, £640,000 in 08-09 and £556,000 in 07-08.
This is due to the increase in EACH shops. There are now 12 shops across the region: Cambridge, Colchester, Halstead, Attleborough, Diss, Long Stratton, Wymondham, Downham Market, Ipswich, Lowestoft, Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds.
Three of which were opened recently: Bury St Edmunds- October 2010, Cambridge- July 2010 and Stowmarket- November 2009. EACH has plans to open three more shops by the end of March 2012 with an annual trading income of £1.5m.
The charity makes about 40 house collections per week to pick up larger and bulkier items which cannot easily be taken to EACH shops. The Central Distribution centre in Thetford, where donated goods are sorted, moved to a larger premises last year to cope with the increase in donations.
One of the major EACH retail developments has been recycling. The charity now recycles 95 per cent of donations which cannot be sold and expects to achieve £150,000 from this income stream across all EACH shops and CDC in the coming year.
A staggering 600 tonnes of products including rags, paper, books, metals, ceramics, glass and plastics are recycled each year. To give a sense of the scale of recycling, 600 tonnes is the equivalent of 60,000 black sacks of recyclable materials processed every year.
Gift aid is also a very important income stream for EACH. Anyone who donates goods to be sold in the shops could add 28p to every £1 raised, if they are UK tax payers and sign-up to the Gift Aid scheme. The same goes for monetary donations made to the charity.
If you don’t have any items to donate but still want to support EACH, why not consider volunteering at our distribution centre, helping out with deliveries and collections or volunteering to work at one of our 12 shops?
For more information about donating goods please call Karen Boxall, Retail Support manager, on 01842 821 620, or email
For more information about volunteering opportunities please contact Clare Bates, HR and volunteer co-ordinator, on: 01223 815134 or email
