Raising funds for a hospice is a worthy way to spend a day at work

Helping raise money for St Catherine's Hospice gives staff and volunteers a great sense of pride and satisfaction.
Rachel HewittRachel Hewitt
Rachel Hewitt

The hospice recently relaunched its charity boutique in High Street, Chorley, which sells good quality second hand clothes and accessories, with all proceeds going towards its cancer care services.

The shop, which was initially opened in October 2008, relocated from across the road, so it can offer more shopping space to customers.

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Sally Booth, 20, manages the day to day running of the shop, as well as the team of volunteers, ensuring the shop looks the best it can do.

Sally BoothSally Booth
Sally Booth

She has also just completed her second year of a Marketing Degree at Lancaster University.

Rachel Hewitt, head of trading, 29, is responsible for the overall running of St Catherine’s 16 retail outlets.

She says: “I loves all things charity retail. Every day is different.

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“We now have 15 charity outlets, ranging from book shops, furniture shops, clothing and accessory shops, a superstore in Preston and an eBay store, our shops are

Jamie HatchJamie Hatch
Jamie Hatch

located from Longridge in the north, down as far as Chorley.

“The variety of charity shops plays an important part in helping to provide vital funds for the hospice, with the income generated enabling the hospice to care for people with life shortening illnesses.

“The charity is also here to support family members and loved ones, through a range of dedicated services and none of this would be possible without the support of the local community and the dedication of our loyal volunteers.

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“Chorley customers and donors have always been incredibly supportive of the hospice and the shop.

Liz SteinLiz Stein
Liz Stein

“It has a loyal bunch of volunteers, some of whom have been at the shop since it opened.

“The shop is an extremely busy environment. We are extremely lucky to receive regular donations so there’s very often bags and boxes being dropped off.

“We take all of our donations very seriously so our volunteers take lots of time going through each bag and pricing them accordingly. We often research items to make sure they get the price they deserve.

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“Displaying and merchandising is also very important to us and we have some very talented volunteers who make creative displays which our customers love.

Sally BoothSally Booth
Sally Booth

“We also make sure our stock is turned over regularly so that our regular customers always have new bargains to root through.

“Stock that doesn’t sell at Chorley often goes to our

superstore in Preston for another chance at sale.

“We are super local. We know our customers and our donors so there’s a real community vibe about the shop. We’re trusted with people’s precious possessions and we take that very seriously. It’s our job to make sure those items are treated with respect and generate the most money for the Hospice.

“That is why they were given to us. Visitors know they’ll get a friendly face when they visit our shops and Chorley is no exception.

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“We’re proud to welcome lots of different people into our shop.

Jamie HatchJamie Hatch
Jamie Hatch

“Ultimately we’re there to generate as much income as possible for the Hospice but our social and environmental impact isn’t to be overlooked.

“We’re lucky to have a huge amount of support from the people of Chorley and in return we hope to give them an attractive shop, full of fantastic stock for them to shop in.”

St Catherine’s Hospice also has a charity book shop in Chapel Street, and a furniture shop in Clifford Street, Chorley.

For more details on shops and opening times, visit http://www.stcatherines.co.uk.

Read about the hospice shop's grand opening here http://www.lep.co.uk/news/big-move-for-hospice-shop-1-8002741