Charities are urging people to donate any Christmas presents they may not want or need.
Barnardos has said that selling donated gifts raises essential funds that help keep its services operating. reports RTE.
“It really is important. Our shops are a vital way for us to raise the money that we need to keep our services for children and families going,” says Mary Gamble, the charity’s director of funding, speaking from the central warehouse where volunteers are sorting through recent donations.
Items given since Christmas include Lego sets, books and even a brand-new Xbox. reports RTE.
Although the festive season has come to an end, the charity is continuing to ask the public to pass on any unwanted gifts they received.
“Now, I know that that might seem quite horrible,” says Mary Gamble, “but sometimes people do get gifts that they don’t particularly want, or they might have the double of it at home. And what we’re asking people to do is, instead of leaving it there for the whole year, just gathering dust on the shelf, bring it into us, donate it because we can then turn it into something amazing and raise funds for the children and families that we work with all over Ireland,” reports RTE.
The charity says it is ideally seeking brand new items, noting that clothes, handbags and footwear tend to sell easily.
“Some of the donated stuff that we get is absolutely amazing. We get amazing handbags, clothes, footwear. It’s an absolute treasure trove of goods and products that we have in our stores. So, we’re really grateful to everybody, because we have had such amazing support throughout the year last year as well,” she says, reports RTE.
“The things that sell really well are handbags, accessories, really good quality clothing and footwear. People love them.
“We also take books, records, DVDs, collectibles, ornaments, anything at all, but those things, like the accessories, handbags, shoes and good quality clothing, are the things that actually will fly out the door,” reports RTE.
“Toys are great, but we have to make sure that they are actually extremely good quality and actually brand new, because we can’t sell them on if they’re not otherwise,” she says.
Donations are sold on in Barnardos shops at reduced prices. reports RTE.
Colette Miller is the charity’s retail operations manager.
“Our shops are becoming more and more popular. We see lots of young people coming over the door, which is something new. And I think lots of people are interested in sustainability,” she says, adding that their Christmas appeal is critical for the running of its services. This campaign is really important for Barnardos. It helps us raise the vital funds that we need to keep our children and family services in operation. The campaign is growing in strength to strength year on year, and we can’t thank the public enough for the donations that they’ve given us, because they’re really helping us to achieve the €10 million that we need to work with our 36,000 children and families across Ireland,” she said, reports RTE.
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