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The Association of Charity Shops’ annual Awards ceremony included a surprising new category this year.
The Association of Charity Shops has 300 member charities which, together, operate 6,800 shops in the UK and Ireland. The annual Awards recognise the outstanding contribution of charity shop staff and volunteers.
Trevor Paulett, Managing Director of Powell Publishing (a leading publisher of charity Christmas cards), which sponsored the awards for the fifth year running, said;
Powell Publishing has sponsored these awards for five years. We are delighted once again to be able to recognise the efforts and successes of charity shops. Charity shops raise a huge amount for vital causes”.
This year an 'Most Unusual Item' category was instituted after a novel item was left at a hospice shop. The skeleton of a dog was donated to a St Barnabas shop in Lincolnshire. It was claimed it was excavated at a dig in 1986, and was Roman. The Collection museum in Lincoln confirmed the skeleton is most probably of a Roman dog. The charity is donating the skeleton to the museum, where it may be displayed permanently.
Other winning charities included St Michael’s Hospice (for volunteer contributions), CLIC Sargent and Cancer Research UK (for eBay trading) and Blackpool Samaritans (for most valuable donation).
Force Cancer Charity, the Compton Hospice, St Peter’s Hospice and Oxfam won awards for the highest profits for different categories of charity size.
The Young Volunteer and Shop Team of the Year awards both went to the British Red Cross.
Winner of the Young Volunteer award, Josh Hill, masterminded a series of “roadshows” at Liverpool University to promote volunteering. Josh also pioneered the idea of the “big red sack” to encourage students to donate unwanted items at the end of term. In addition, Josh is a first aid trainer and a recycling volunteer.
Sue Ratcliff, Red Cross Area Manager said: “This award is well deserved. Josh is an inspiration to all young volunteers. His commitment is exceptional.”
Josh Hill said, simply: “It is nice to feel noticed and appreciated for what I do.
Lekha Klouda, Director of the Association of Charity Shops, commented:
Once again we had some very strong entries and the judges had a hard time. There were only a couple of points separating the top three entrants for each award. This is another demonstration of the high quality and commitment of staff and volunteers in charity shops. The sector is very fortunate to have such dedicated people around.”
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