HC-One, the Kind Care Company, Eden Project Communities and The Charity Shop Gift Card have collaborated together to champion and strengthen charity retail, promote an environmentally sustainable retail experience and build a strong community network whilst supporting charitable causes.
As part of celebrating the ‘Month of Community’ by Eden Project Communities in June, where millions were encouraged to connect with their local community and say thank you to care organisations, £250 worth of The Charity Shop Gift Card was donated to HC-One. The Charity Shop Gift Card is the only multi-retailer gift card for use solely in charity shops and these cards were generously funded by corporate partners as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Five £50 charity shop gift cards were gifted to River Court in Watford, Hertfordshire; Kirkby House in Knowsley, Merseyside; Ailsa Craig in Cessnock, Glasgow; Orchard Mews in Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne and The Beeches in Dukinfield, Tameside who then took Residents out on shopping trips to their local charity shops to spend the gift cards on items that would bring them happiness and enjoyment.
The Beeches care home in Dukinfield, took Residents, Gladys Robson and Mary Quinn to Ashton town centre to have a look around the charity shops to spend their gift card. Gladys and Mary were on the lookout for some bargains and decided that they wanted to create their own reminiscence boxes for Residents at the home to enjoy. After enjoying a hot drink and brainstorm to think about what other Residents who live at the Beeches would enjoy and be interested in, Gladys and Mary proceeded to enjoy looking around the shops and were surprised with the selection of items you could find in the charity shops.
After a lot of hunting, Gladys and Mary found some board games which were suitable for groups to play, books on Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Dogs, the local area and many more. Upon their return to the Beeches, Gladys and Mary were delighted to show their friends what they’d found and bought for them to enjoy and proceeded to spend the afternoon playing games together and reading the books they’d bought.
Resident at The Beeches Care Home, Mary Quinn said:
“It’s been a great day out to look around the local charity shops, the items are in really good condition, and I’ve enjoyed chatting to those who work in the charity shops, they are lovely and helpful.”
Sade Smith, Wellbeing Coordinator at The Beeches Care Home commented:
“It’s been lovely buying items for the home for Residents to enjoy and add to reminiscence boxes to spark memories. Finding the book on Frank Sinatra made a few of our ladies very happy.”
Ailsa Craig care home in Glasgow, went to their local Marie Curie and Shelter charity shops where jigsaw puzzles and trivia activities were selected for Residents at the home to enjoy.
Fiona Pryce, Wellbeing Coordinator at Ailsa Craig spoke to Residents at the home to find out what they wanted to be purchased with the charity shop gift card, with many stating that they’d like the gift card to be used to purchase more puzzles and mind stimulating activities. With this in mind, on a trip to the charity shop, Fiona purchased a flower/garden jigsaw and a football pack to use for a reminiscing activity from Marie Curie, as well as a trivia book and three additional jigsaw sets from Shelter. On showing Residents the purchases, they were in discussion as to which jigsaw would be attempted first with the trivia book purchased being a great bonus for Residents to enjoy, with lots of quiz activities being planned. Fiona is planning on taking the Residents out on a future charity shop rummage following the enjoyment and excitement of the finds from the trip.
Joseph McLellan, Resident at Ailsa Craig Care Home said:
“Spending time completing the puzzles was a great way to pass the time. The puzzles were stimulating and are very addictive. I’m looking forward to completing more of these.”
Heather Moore, Home Manager at Ailsa Craig Care Home commented:
“Thank you to the Charity Shop Gift Card organisation for their kind donation. It was lovely for our home and Residents to be able to build connections and support local charity shops by purchasing a selection of stimulating activities for Residents at the home to enjoy.”
River Court Care Home were delighted to receive a Charity Shop Gift Card to purchase products and items for the home and Residents. Colleagues took Residents to the town centre where Residents were treated to coffee and cakes at Costa before they looked around a variety of charity shops to browse for products which could be used in a display unit in the lounge to help improve and enhance the room.
Colleagues enjoyed listening to Residents’ views and opinions when purchasing the products and the shopping provided a sense of positive welfare for Residents, as their emotions were well reflected with smiles and laughter and a bonding opportunity between Colleagues and Residents.
Following purchasing items from the charity shop, including ceramic decorative plates, plaques and ornaments, Residents and Colleagues then discussed how to display the items to make the lounge area a better place for them to enjoy.
Sarah Cox, Co-founder of The Charity Shop Gift Card, commented:
“We’ve loved seeing how Colleagues and Residents at HC-One have embraced using the gift card with gusto! It sounds like the whole experience embodied everything that we value at The Charity Shop Gift Card; community, sustainability and supporting the charity sector.
“I’m so pleased the Residents had such fun finding their preloved activities and the fact that some of the items were used in reminiscence boxes makes it even more special. This is the first time that a CSR donation of the gift cards has gone to care homes and it really demonstrates the huge impact it can have in creating connection and helping charities at the same time.”
Tracey Robbins, Head of UK Delivery for Eden Project Communities, a leading partner of Month of Community said:
“We’re really proud to be part of the Month of Community – it’s an initiative all about supporting and celebrating the people and good causes that make our neighbourhoods so special. To see the Charity Shop Gift Card donation knitting so many great causes together and delivering a circular benefit to all as part of the Month of Community in June is really special. HC-One Residents have had fun! They’ve enjoyed discovering treasures and making connections, and the Charity Shop Gift Card funds have been reinvested back into good causes to help deliver more fantastic as part of Charity Retail Association network. This is just one of the amazing collaborations that happen as part of the Month of Community, so I invite people to think about how they could get involved next year. Anyone can find out more at www.monthofcommunity.com!”