Wakefield Hospice shops set to reopen from this weekend

The re-opening will be phased, with Ridings, Ossett and Horbury locations opening first, on Saturday, July 4, followed by George Street on Wednesday, July 8.

Opening times will be restricted from 10am to 4pm to enable volunteers to fully clean down the shops after customers have left.

The hospice charity shops have adopted the slogan “Shop to help us care” in a bid to encourage people to make purchases that will help to support the future of the hospice.

Wakefield Hospice chief executive Tina Turner said: “It has been incredibly sad that during our 30th anniversary year we have had so much disruption to our fundraising activities. When the charity shops were forced to close as well, we were really concerned about how we would raise the money needed to provide the services that we do.

"Charities have been hit really hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and, whilst we’re incredibly grateful for the support we have received from members of our community, we are delighted to be able to re-open our charity shops.

"We would like to thank all of our volunteers for their patience and positivity during this unsettling time and we look forward to welcoming them back totheir roles within our shops."

While the hospice turned 30 in April, all celebratory fundraising activities had to be postponed or cancelled, and all charity shops were closed. This has had a significant impact on their revenue.

Every year, Wakefield hospice receives over 300 in-patients and 1,800 day therapy attendees.

There is no charge for care, and with only a quarter of their funding coming from the NHS, the hospice very much relies on fundraising initiatives and the generosity of the surrounding community to carry out their work. The hospice is incredibly grateful for the fundraising initiatives that people have come up with during this unsettling time, but it is worried about hitting its financial target.

The safety of customers and staff remains at the forefront of the hospice’s mind so they will be limiting the number of customers permitted into the shops at any given time. There will be a one-way system in each shop with markers to ensure people maintain social distancing. All fitting rooms will remain closed and only payments made with contactless cards will be accepted.

Hand sanitiser will be available to anyone who comes into the shop and Perspex screens will be installed at the tills to further protect customers and staff.

Whilst donations at the charity shops will not be accepted, people wishing to donate may do so at the Wakefield Hospice warehouse on Tadman Street.

A booking system has been put in place to limit the number of people coming to the warehouse. Anyone without a pre-booked slot will be unable to donate items to the hospice.