AN ANONYMOUS donor has contributed £800 to St Richard’s Hospice to pay for repairs to a window at the charity’s Droitwich shop which was smashed by vandals.
The shop manager discovered the damage when she arrived on Saturday morning and the funds were pledged after the charity shared the incident on social media, saying it was ‘shocked and saddened’.
St Richard’s regional manager Ruth Lewis said everyone was delighted with the donation.
“It was a wonderful gesture we all very much appreciate.”
She added the bill for the window would have been frustrating, particularly at a time when the charity, like others, had been struggling to raise funds because of the pandemic.
The incident happened just as St Richard’s backed the national Charity Retail Association’s (CRA) #ShopSafeShopKind campaign.
The CRA launched the campaign on Friday, following reports that charity shop staff and volunteers were experiencing abuse from customers when asked to comply with the latest Covid-19 safety rules.
The #ShopSafeShopKind campaign encourages shoppers to wear a face covering in store to protect others (unless exempt) and urges them to be kind and mindful about their behaviour towards staff, volunteers and other customers.
CRA Chief Executive, Robin Osterley, said: “We saw huge amounts of kindness and camaraderie from the public during lockdown, and as shops reopened, and we want to bring back this sense of togetherness. It is a source of sadness to us as sector that charity shop workers are being subject to abuse, especially as the majority are giving their time and skills on a voluntary basis.”
“We would like to see everyone working together as a team to make it through this difficult and uncertain time, and to make charity shopping a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone.”
Mr Corns welcomed the national campaign and hopes it will highlight the issues with the general public.
He said, “The majority of our customers and donors are totally supportive but we do have some people who can be thoughtless and abusive towards our staff or volunteers. We even hand our hand sanitiser stolen from one of our shops last week.”
St Richard’s Hospice cares for adults with a serious progressive illness, improving their quality of life from diagnosis, during treatment and to their last days. It also supports their loved ones.
Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,300 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.
St Richard’s is an independent charity and relies on donations and gifts in Wills for the majority of its income with just 20 per cent funded by the NHS.
