Flog-it Days 2010
We delighted to confirm the following dates for the 2010 Flog It Days:
Saturday 15 May @ Laser Blast, Onchan - 10am till 4pm
Sunday 1 August @ Nobles' Park - 10am till 4pm
Pitches £9.50
For further information phone 615055
Welcome to 2010
Terry Groves -
Chairman,
Hospice Shops
The start of a new year almost always tempts us to look back as well as forward. This year is no different in that respect. It has been a momentous year for Share the Care in many ways and what has been achieved by our staff and volunteers is quite brilliant really given the difficulties of the times.
Spring Valley office and
Warehouse frontage
The major change for us has been the move into our new furniture outlet at Unit 14, Springham Park, Spring Valley, more than more that doubling our furniture sales capability, increased storage space and allowed us to bring the separate operations of the business under one roof. Substantial savings and increased income have flowed from this almost immediately, the joy of this being that this all goes straight through to the bottom line - cash dividend paid over to Hospice. Our new unit allows us to set out the furniture and other goods to best advantage and to receive larger donations of goods that we can then distribute out to our eight shops in a planned way. An example of this is that we have recently received over 1000 new books from a local shop closure.
Donated goods from the Island’s public have continued to flow in to us and we ensure that nothing that is given to us is wasted. Even those clothing items that are beyond use are sold to a re-cycling company who turn them into new product again. E-bay trading improves with some really interesting sales over the year, which you can see, from time to time posted here on our website.
Although I make this move sound simple it was obviously a great deal of hard work, did disrupt the normal pattern of Share the Care and place extra work on staff and volunteers alike. I am extremely grateful to everyone for all their efforts that made this move such a success.
The 2010 Challenge
2010 presents the expected challenge and opportunity. This year we shall be re-fitting our Port Erin and Douglas shops – they have given sterling service but are in need of a facelift now. It is important that our shops are bright attractive places in which to shop, also in which to work and are places that our generous donors are happy to see their items displayed and sold.
Whilst “earning” as much as we can from our retail operations for Hospice Isle of Man is important, our ethos is that it is not just about money alone. Most of us work and volunteer for STC for many different personal reasons not least being our commitment to Hospice, to the care that it brings to all who need it on the island and the help we bring to our patients. Whilst this requires funds STC continues to believe that all of us involved, staff, volunteers and even our donors should gain satisfaction for their personal motives from helping the organisation and being a part of it. We must continue to enjoy what we are doing, make friends and enjoy the company of those around us whilst we are “on our shift” or whatever. If we can do that everything else will follow – that is what has happened in years past and will happen next year also.
Terry Groves - Chairman Share the Care Ltd,.
Special Events from the recent past
You can now visit a new page with links to special events recorded on the Hospice Shops website. Included are: Princess Anne opening our new Hospice; Hospice Shops 20th Birthday party and the very special Birthday visit to our Onchan Shop.
Would you like to help in our Shops?
We need and always welcome new Volunteers in our seven Shops and our eBay department.
If you have a few hours a week you could spare and would like to know more telephone Tina Lawton at the Bucks Road office: 61 50 55. There is a page on this website which explains much more with a contact form as well.
"Every Penny worked for and every Penny Counts"
Hospice Shop Volunteers serve a
customer in the Onchan Shop.
Total shop, saleroom, eBay, and recyclable receipts in 2009 continue at a high level; income to the end of September was £714,500 most of which has been passed to Hospice Care to assist with patient care costs, both in-patient and in the community.
Once again, a really big thank you to our customers, to all those who gave - and continue to give - so many of the goods we sell in our seven shops and three salerooms, and another very big thanks to our 200 plus Volunteers working in the Shops without whom none of this would be possible; “Every penny worked for and every penny counts."
Our eBay Shop is doing very well
Our eBay shop continues to expand averaging £700 to £800 per week. Would you like to see our News page? There's a description of a spectacular sale there. For a news update follow this link. You can find out how our eBay Shops and studio works? There is a page of photos and explanation.
Like to know more about Hospice?
If you would like to know more about Hospice's service to the Island, there is a separate page explaining the depth and detail of our patient care.
As a Hospice Shops customer, or as a visitor to Hospice Shops website, could we ask you to think about making a donation towards patient care costs at Hospice? You can from this website - just follow this link to reach the donations page.