Our shops are a very important part of our foundation as their sales cover all our modest overheads. They are all successful and make a profit and this in turn is donated to the children we support.
Boscombe
Our first shop was opened in Boscombe in 2013 and has been trading for nearly 10 years. We have a dedicated band of staff and volunteers and manager Jayne puts on spectacular seasonal window displays. We know that Boscombe isn’t a wealthy area and so price accordingly so everyone from a young mum to xxx. Can xxxx.
Southbourne
Southbourne is a traditional good old fashioned charity shop where you can really bag a bargain.
The Treehouse: Story time / cinema
Small independent charity The Dorset Children’s Foundation have been gifted a state of the art Cinema which has been installed in their charity shop. This will provide disabled children and their families with a wonderful opportunity to enjoy.
“Having our very own cinema installed is wonderful and has opened up amazing opportunities for the families we support, who often are not able or are not comfortable accessing mainstream cinema. In many instances the cinema environment is just too noisy for a disabled child. Also having to sit still and not make noises to disturb others, for example is not always possible. So having our own accessible and inclusive cinema means so much. We have purchased some large bean bags so wheelchair users can be hoisted out of their chairs and sit in comfort.
The cinema experience will be part of our ‘Accessible for All’ programme of events and activities and is a fantastic addition to this, which won’t cost us anything to provide as its on our premises. Not only that we can use the equipment in the shop for: Key messages, birthday parties, sing-a-longs, themed days in the shop, Polish and Ukranian story time films to involve further members of our community. We can also arrange intimate family days for a special treat for disabled children, especially for those going through a hard time who may be able to forget their troubles for a moment.”
Patsy Hallmey Co-Founder
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reconnect.
We all know that fast fashion has a detrimental effect on the environment so buying preloved is the perfect way to shop if you care about your impact on the planet. Reuse and recycling reduces Co2 emissions, keeps clothing out of landfill and does not add chemicals or production stress to the environment.
From vintage gems to designer pieces, charity shops stock a huge range of brands and styles – the sustainable way to update you wardrobe, or furnish your home, shopping pre-loved gives you the chance to express yourself and explore new styles without breaking the bank, all whilst donating to good causes.
Shop second hand to keep perfectly good clothing from going to waste. Charity shops saved 339,000 tonnes of textiles from landfill in 2018/19.
According to the waste hierarchy, it’s ‘Reuse’ – which can mean mend, upcycle, resell or donate. And this is naturally where charity shops fall. In the waste hierarchy charity shops are better for the planet than the vast majority of retailers in the world dealing in new goods – who don’t even appear in the hierarchy. What a privilege that is! What a platform from which to speed up the behaviour change we are seeing in shopping trends towards second hand.
