charity shops that turn away/dump donations

elfen

If there are any refuges in the areas you live in I can say for sure that they would be VERY grateful for any donations of kiddies clothes, old toys, small pieces of furniture, as many of the women who go there don't have a lot with them when they come

Ballymackeonan

I find that it's better to donate little and often - a couple of carrier bags at a time rather than a bin liner once in a while. Plus I've built up a relationship with a couple of the charity shops. I'm listed for Gift Aid in one, so anything I bring in is recorded and I get letters occasionally telling me how much tax they've been able to reclaim.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

elfen wrote: »

If there are any refuges in the areas you live in I can say for sure that they would be VERY grateful for any donations of kiddies clothes, old toys, small pieces of furniture, as many of the women who go there don't have a lot with them when they come

the refuges in our area, are better off than the locals

the flats and houses are all refurbished and kitted out with all brand new appliances etc, and they get loads...its a bit of a sore subject in one local estate, as some residents have been waiting ages to have some work done on their houses.

annie-c

I also try to give little and often; it helps me keep on top of things and I think it makes it more attractive and manageable for the staff if they have a small carrier bag and can see immediately that it is filled with clean, pressed clothes.

I have had my eyes opened by chatting to charity shop staff and watching various tv programmes. To be honest I have given tat to charity shops in the past, without meaning to cause them trouble, but simply by not thinking hard about whether what I was giving was really a gift to them and not just a means by which I coul feel good about getting rid of my own clutter!

Savvy_Sue

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

the refuges in our area, are better off than the locals

the flats and houses are all refurbished and kitted out with all brand new appliances etc, and they get loads...its a bit of a sore subject in one local estate, as some residents have been waiting ages to have some work done on their houses.

I couldn't pass this by: while I can appreciate that it's frustrating to wait a long time for work to be done on your home, the refuge is almost certainly NOT run by the local authority but by a charity. And when women arrive with nothing, and are then moved on at a later date, they move on with nothing but what they can be given, or have saved to buy themselves.

Although I'm surprised that the location and condition of the refuge is such public knowledge, usually they HAVE to be very private.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I couldn't pass this by: while I can appreciate that it's frustrating to wait a long time for work to be done on your home, the refuge is almost certainly NOT run by the local authority but by a charity. And when women arrive with nothing, and are then moved on at a later date, they move on with nothing but what they can be given, or have saved to buy themselves.

Although I'm surprised that the location and condition of the refuge is such public knowledge, usually they HAVE to be very private.

i must have mis-read the post i thought it was about foreign refuges,

i totally agree with the women's refuge i lived next door to one, and they did turn up all hours of the night, some of them just in their dressing gowns.

locally everyone knows where the houses are,

so sorry i was totally on the wrong wave length with the post.

that will teach me to post, when i havent long got out of bed, and havent had my first cuppa of the day...

moneymakestheworldgoround

I used to volunteer in Oxfam ( many many years ago) and I was disgusted by the amount of designer gear and good stuff that the staff used to take, and it wouldnt even occur to them to pay for it or put a donation in the till. They then used to moan we only had tat to sell !!

I donate to a foreign collection team that come round every 3 months. Think its eastern european countries - people living here and abroad. I normally have 8 - 15 big bin bags full and they always say thank you and have a chat. The better stuff remains in refuges here, and the tattier stuff goes abroad for people who dont care if the shoes are scuffed, or the top has a mark on it.

I do a lot of car boots and I often collect up the stuff people throw away at the end of the day. It just gets dumped and burnt otherwise - when I challenged people and said charity shops would cry out for it, most people said similar things to the posts on here - rude, ungrateful staff who turned their noses up at most of the stuff, even designer.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

moneymakestheworldgoround wrote: »

I used to volunteer in Oxfam ( many many years ago) and I was disgusted by the amount of designer gear and good stuff that the staff used to take, and it wouldnt even occur to them to pay for it or put a donation in the till. They then used to moan we only had tat to sell !!

I donate to a foreign collection team that come round every 3 months. Think its eastern european countries - people living here and abroad. I normally have 8 - 15 big bin bags full and they always say thank you and have a chat. The better stuff remains in refuges here, and the tattier stuff goes abroad for people who dont care if the shoes are scuffed, or the top has a mark on it.

I do a lot of car boots and I often collect up the stuff people throw away at the end of the day. It just gets dumped and burnt otherwise - when I challenged people and said charity shops would cry out for it, most people said similar things to the posts on here - rude, ungrateful staff who turned their noses up at most of the stuff, even designer.

i woul;d check they are legit, to be honest, as there are loads of bogus door to door textile collectors, please remember that clothes given donated or sold are not given abraod they are sold abroad. they need to have a local authority license to operate door to door, and alot of them havent.

tenmah

Does anyone here, who has worked in a charity shop, know whether they have a need for coathangers or are they overwhelmed with them?

I have loads here (just had a clearout) but don't want to take them into town if they are not really wanted.

Thanks

elfen

COOLTRIKERCHICK - you were thinking of refugees NOT a refuge...And yup, no-one is meant to know where they are.