Guild Care’s re-opened charity shops are teeming with bargains

With a flood of people donating their ‘corona clear outs’ to Guild Care’s shops, now is the perfect time to grab a bargain while supporting an invaluable local charity.

The last few months have been tough for everyone, including our nation’s charities. Lockdown and social distancing measures have not only made it difficult for charities to carry out their invaluable work but there has also been a negative impact on fundraising. For example, Worthing-based charity Guild Care has had to cancel or postpone many of its fundraising events.

Thankfully though, it is not all doom and gloom. Along with the rest of the high-street, charity shops are again reopening for business. Not only does this reignite an important fundraising stream for charities, it also provides shoppers with the perfect pick-me-up for the lockdown blues – bargains.

A well-discussed positive of the past few months has been the time it has afforded for tasks around the house that always get put off. One such task is the dreaded clear out of drawers, cupboards, wardrobes, attics and various other places where useful but unused items live. This meant that when charity shops opened again a few weeks ago, donations flooded in.

One person who has had a ‘corona clear out’ is Amy Hart of Love Island and Celebs Go Dating fame. She donated 150 items of clothing to Guild Care.

Amy said: “I’m really happy that the charity can use my clothes to make lots of much-needed funds. It’s always great to get a bargain. Especially with lots of new clothes that still have tags in. Thanks for everyone at Guild Care for being so supportive.”

Half the items were sold last week at the charity’s Broadwater charity shop, raising an impressive £1,500. The rest will be sold on Friday and Saturday at Guild Care’s charity shop at 10 Goring Road.

Adam Rider, Guild Care’s director of retail, said: “As has been the case for charities across the country, these last few months have been difficult for Guild Care. Therefore, such generosity from Amy and those supporting our charity by visiting the shops really does mean the world to us.

“Our shops opened with social distancing measures a few weeks ago and we’ve been blown away by the number of donations and visitors we’ve had. If you haven’t popped along to your nearest shop since we reopened, we’d love to see you.”

Expanding on the measures taken to keep everyone safe, Adam said: “We have erected sneeze screens, placed two-metre markings on the floor and created one-way systems that will limit customer numbers. We prefer card over cash and we have change buckets for self-service as well as PPE for staff and hand sanitisers at the entrance for customers.”

Further ensuring safety, the charity will deliver and collect from doorsteps only, so to avoid going into homes, and if people buy larger items, it is the charity’s preference to arrange collection rather than delivering.

When you have the chance, make sure to pop over to you nearest Guild Care shop to pick up a bargain and support an important local charity. The 11 shops, sprinkled over the Worthing area with an extra superstore in Littlehampton, are all open 10am to 4pm, subject to staff availability. You can find a full list of the locations here: www.guildcare.org/charity-shops