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Charity Shops

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Stonge
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Charity Shops

#303377

Postby Stonge » April 26th, 2020, 1:58 pm

Not sure I will be rushing to support the local charity shops after this is all over.

They're always going on about how vital and essential their work is for their chosen beneficiaries.

Why then did they rush to close their shops so quickly without looking into the possibilities of keeping them open with appropriate measures in place?

Clearly their 'work' cannot be as 'essential' as they made out.

vrdiver
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Re: Charity Shops

#303379

Postby vrdiver » April 26th, 2020, 2:14 pm

Stonge wrote:Not sure I will be rushing to support the local charity shops after this is all over.

They're always going on about how vital and essential their work is for their chosen beneficiaries.

Why then did they rush to close their shops so quickly without looking into the possibilities of keeping them open with appropriate measures in place?

Clearly their 'work' cannot be as 'essential' as they made out.

Our local charity shops are mainly staffed by retirees; quite likely with underlying health conditions that put them in pride of place for the most at risk groups. Their layouts preclude social distancing, being generally cluttered, whilst their donation sorting areas and the things they receive might be considered high risk for transmission without a lot of additional processing. They also (IMHO) would be required to enforce the message "stay home" rather than "come browse in the shops".

Our local hospice has a high street shop; the shop is closed. The hospice is struggling financially (and has been for a while). Without additional funding from somewhere, it is likely they will reduce their services, which include end-of-life care, lymphedema clinics, bereavement counselling and generally providing an environment where families and their terminally ill relations can have a bit of quality time.

By all means examine the work that your charity shops support and make your own judgement, but do try to consider that charities will be hard hit by the lack of fund raising (or its diversion to the NHS) and that their reduced ability to help their communities (or stated cause) will have an impact.

VRD

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Re: Charity Shops

#303384

Postby Howyoudoin » April 26th, 2020, 2:47 pm

Stonge wrote:Not sure I will be rushing to support the local charity shops after this is all over.

They're always going on about how vital and essential their work is for their chosen beneficiaries.

Why then did they rush to close their shops so quickly without looking into the possibilities of keeping them open with appropriate measures in place?

Clearly their 'work' cannot be as 'essential' as they made out.


Of all the businesses and high street shops that one could possibly get annoyed at during this lockdown period, this has to be the strangest one i've seen so far.

Spectacularly misplaced ire.

HYD

Stonge
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Re: Charity Shops

#303389

Postby Stonge » April 26th, 2020, 3:02 pm

"Our local hospice has a high street shop; the shop is closed. The hospice is struggling financially (and has been for a while). Without additional funding from somewhere, it is likely they will reduce their services, which include end-of-life care, lymphedema clinics, bereavement counselling and generally providing an environment where families and their terminally ill relations can have a bit of quality time."

Our local hospices have several shops. The hospices have huge budgets and are now largely self-funded. At least three members of my family have received help over the last twenty years. We make regular non-trivial donations to them. And I prefer to mainly donate to local causes rather than faceless National 'charities' with overpaid CEOs etc.

But...

In the current situation human ingenuity, adaptability and creativity are essential.

If their shops bring in such a huge amount of income then why not let the paid managers (who are all younger and not in the vulnerable group) recruit some of the furloughed young people to man the shops and implement a one in one out system (or something similar) instead of just shutting the doors and giving up. So is your hospice expecting this 'additional funding' to miraculously appear from somewhere? They must be, or they would be going to the ends of the earth to find a way of opening their shop, wouldn't they?

As for the big charities, I don't really believe anything most of them claim anyway, with honourable exceptions.

I could tell you a personal experience with the British Heart Foundation which has left me angry and disgusted but maybe another time.

Stonge
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Re: Charity Shops

#303392

Postby Stonge » April 26th, 2020, 3:08 pm

Howyoudoin wrote:
Spectacularly misplaced ire.



Disappointment rather than ire. There is a difference you know. You should try to be more constructive in your thinking.

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Re: Charity Shops

#303407

Postby johnhemming » April 26th, 2020, 4:01 pm

Stonge wrote:As for the big charities, I don't really believe anything most of them claim anyway, with honourable exceptions.

Claim what?

I would assume most particularly the larger ones claim gift aid.

Charity shops can also make claims under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund:

Charities can claim under the furlough scheme.

I would assume the larger charities will claim more than the smaller ones.

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Re: Charity Shops

#303408

Postby Dod101 » April 26th, 2020, 4:04 pm

I would prefer that there were no charity shops but on the other hand it is surely a good way of recycling decent quality items. Our local Red Cross shop is excellent, and in fact was in the top ten for profit in the UK a year or two back but so much depends on the manager and in the local Red Cross shop, the assistant manager (both paid employees). They have both gone and I doubt that it is quite the same.

I am not surprised that they are closed because as has been said, the staff are all volunteers and mostly in the older and more vulnerable age group, and charity shops certainly do not make for essential shopping. We are supposed to be in lockdown for goodness' sake. How could they be open and then leave the teashop next door closed? One can make a case for anything to be open. I would like our local garden centre to be open and they will gradually, I have no doubt. It is a fact of life in the current situation that charities are going to be short of donations. Sharing the pain and all that.

Dod

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Re: Charity Shops

#303413

Postby Arborbridge » April 26th, 2020, 4:33 pm

Stonge wrote:Not sure I will be rushing to support the local charity shops after this is all over.

They're always going on about how vital and essential their work is for their chosen beneficiaries.

Why then did they rush to close their shops so quickly without looking into the possibilities of keeping them open with appropriate measures in place?

Clearly their 'work' cannot be as 'essential' as they made out.


Goodness, what a strange thing to complain about. Surely, you can think of better targets than to pick on the voluntary sector generally staffed by people towards the vulnerable end of the age groups, working to do good in shops which often are too crowded to allowed social distancing?
Our local one was open until the very last moment, and I was jolly grateful too, having just moved house. I will be back there when the law allows, and when they are open.

I think on reflection, you might be slightly embarrassed about what you wrote. Your argument is spurious anyway: essential work can still be impossible to carry out due to circumstances.

Arb.

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Re: Charity Shops

#303425

Postby Stonge » April 26th, 2020, 5:46 pm

Dod101 wrote:How could they be open and then leave the teashop next door closed?
Dod


This will be my last post on this thread. But are you seriously comparing the relative importance of a charity shop and a teashop? What about comparing an A&E dept and a poodle parlour? I'm sorry to single you out but I am really fed up with the kind of muddle headed thinking that seems to be prevalent among the general population with regard to Corona Virus Disease 2019.

This was just one example. I'm sure you can all think of many others.

What we have now is a case study in communism from the aspect of a lack of creative, innovative adaptations to get round some of the problems of the restrictions that have been imposed.

Arborbridge
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Re: Charity Shops

#303427

Postby Arborbridge » April 26th, 2020, 5:56 pm

Stonge wrote:
Dod101 wrote:How could they be open and then leave the teashop next door closed?
Dod


This will be my last post on this thread. But are you seriously comparing the relative importance of a charity shop and a teashop? What about comparing an A&E dept and a poodle parlour? I'm sorry to single you out but I am really fed up with the kind of muddle headed thinking that seems to be prevalent among the general population with regard to Corona Virus Disease 2019.

This was just one example. I'm sure you can all think of many others.

What we have now is a case study in communism from the aspect of a lack of creative, innovative adaptations to get round some of the problems of the restrictions that have been imposed.


It's sad that you seem so perturbed by all this. Sit down and have a nice cuppa, because whatever is troubling you, will seem better. Don't take it out on Dod or the charity shops or miscellaneous people you think are communists or muddled headed just because you do not agree with them. Especially, do not waste emotional energy on something you can't influence, because negativity will hurt you, no one else.

PS Dod's point about the teashop was perfectly valid: don't let your anger muddle your thinking.

Arb.

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Re: Charity Shops

#303442

Postby Howyoudoin » April 26th, 2020, 7:22 pm

Stonge wrote:
Howyoudoin wrote:
Spectacularly misplaced ire.



Disappointment rather than ire. There is a difference you know. You should try to be more constructive in your thinking.


I know the definition of ire but i'm not sure that you do. The overriding emotion that you are displaying on this thread is ire, not disappointment.

HYD

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Re: Charity Shops

#303543

Postby Charlottesquare » April 27th, 2020, 10:40 am

Stonge wrote:"Our local hospice has a high street shop; the shop is closed. The hospice is struggling financially (and has been for a while). Without additional funding from somewhere, it is likely they will reduce their services, which include end-of-life care, lymphedema clinics, bereavement counselling and generally providing an environment where families and their terminally ill relations can have a bit of quality time."

Our local hospices have several shops. The hospices have huge budgets and are now largely self-funded. At least three members of my family have received help over the last twenty years. We make regular non-trivial donations to them. And I prefer to mainly donate to local causes rather than faceless National 'charities' with overpaid CEOs etc.

But...

In the current situation human ingenuity, adaptability and creativity are essential.

If their shops bring in such a huge amount of income then why not let the paid managers (who are all younger and not in the vulnerable group) recruit some of the furloughed young people to man the shops and implement a one in one out system (or something similar) instead of just shutting the doors and giving up. So is your hospice expecting this 'additional funding' to miraculously appear from somewhere? They must be, or they would be going to the ends of the earth to find a way of opening their shop, wouldn't they?

As for the big charities, I don't really believe anything most of them claim anyway, with honourable exceptions.

I could tell you a personal experience with the British Heart Foundation which has left me angry and disgusted but maybe another time.


You will be happy to know that a fair few use E Bay to sell, for instance Red Cross are generally very active re this platform, especially with donated model railway items( one of my interests) but no doubt also with other collectable items.


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