Charity appeals for storage space after influx of donations in lockdown

Video report by ITV News Meridian's Richard Slee


Charity shop staff say they are struggling to store the many new donations they have received during the latest lockdown, with one charity in Dorset asking for a donation of storage space.

The Dorset Blind Association charity shop in Southbourne, Bournemouth is ready to reopen on April 12 when coronavirus restrictions allow.

But it is struggling to cope with the donations it has collected during this latest lockdown. Its shops have very limited storage space and so it has made an appeal for help. 

Jonathan Holyhead says: "We have to stretch our resources very, very thin and a long, long way so if there is some kindly soul out there who has a suitable facility somewhere in the Bournemouth and Poole area. 

"It just needs to be accessible for a vehicle, lockable for safety and weatherproof, we would be delighted to hear from them."        

In July 2020 the Dorset Children's Foundation saw a ten fold increase in donations and managed to find space to sort through it all. 

In July 2020 the Dorset Children's Foundation saw a ten fold increase in donations. Credit: ITV News Meridian

Dorset Blind Association Shop Manager, Julia Clark, says: "In the winter we get the summer stock, that's the way things work, and in the summer we get the winter stock so we're always looking for somewhere to put the winter stock in the summer."

Like most charity shops, this shop is braced for an onslaught of donations once the doors re-open.

Credit: ITV News Meridian

And while all charities are grateful, they also want to remind the public that it is the quality, not the quantity, that counts.