What we take for shops
Our shops always need good quality donations to sell. We accept many items of clothing and household goods. Please wash all clothing before donating.
- Men’s, Ladies and Children’s clothes and shoes
- Books, CDs, DVDs, Games etc
- Jewellery
- Smaller items of kitchen and household goods
We cannot accept large items of furniture as we are unable to store or transport them. We also cannot take large electrical items such as cookers or fridge freezers as we do not have space for them.
Smaller electrical items (e.g. hair dryers) are accepted as we will safety test them before sale.
Safety Standards
- All soft toys must have a CE label for health and safety
- Soft furnishing must have a label to show compliance with the furniture and furnishings fire safety regulations
Donations of Goods for Rags to raise money
If you have items of clothing that are not suitable for resale, they can be bagged to go as Rags as we can make a small amount of money for Rags. Most clothing except for night wear and underwear is suitable. The bag should be marked “Rags”.
Please note that we separately collect Bras. We can recycle 10kilo bags of these that are then sent to Africa. They do not have bra manufacturing and rely on second hand bras. But please, no knickers. This benefits the recipient and raises funds for our charity
Gift Aid explained – How it works
Donations made through Gift Aid mean charities are able to claim an additional 25p for every £1 you donate, without costing you any extra.
For example (if you are a basic rate taxpayer)
• You earn £125 and pay tax currently of £25 (@20%)
• You are left with £100 which you donate to charity as cash or value of goods for resale
• If you make a Gift Aid declaration, the charity can claim back the tax you have paid i.e. £25
• This means for every £1 you donate the charity can claim 25p from HMRC
You can Gift Aid any donations you make in person, via post or on our website. For example, if you make a cash, cheque or debit card donation or donate items for us to sell in our shops – you can Gift Aid it!
Drop off times and Points
You can drop off at any of our four shops or at our clinic at Harwich Road during opening hours. Please knock or hand to a staff member if you are doing gift aid so that we can take your details (Gift Aid increases the value of donations to us). Rags should be in separately labelled bags. Please do not leave items outside opening hours as they can get damaged by the weather