About the Campaign
What is Choose Charity Shops?
Choose Charity Shops is a campaign to increase over-the-counter donations of unwanted items to all charity shops in the UK, many of which are suffering from a shortage of stock to sell. It was coordinated by the Charity Retail Association, the UK membership organisation for charity shops. The Charity Retail Association represents 80% of charity shops in the UK. You can find out more information about the Association at www.charityretail.org.uk
Who participated?
Well over half of all the charity shops in the UK took part in Choose Charity Shops. These include major retailing charities - such as Oxfam, Cancer Research UK and British Heart Foundation - as well as a huge range of smaller charities, including hospices, some of which run only one or two shops. You can find a full list of our members on our website at this link. Charities which participated in the campaign are listed here.
Why get involved?
Although the campaign week (May 14-19, 2012) has now ended, the reason for it remains.
Charity shops simply can’t survive without a good supply of donated stock. The un-donated items in the nation’s wardrobe could be making a huge contribution to UK charities at a time when grants and other funding are being cut back. This campaign is all about people taking their unwanted items down to their local charity shop and donating directly across the counter.
Charity shops are an asset in local communities, raising over £200 million per year for UK charities, providing low cost goods to those who most need them, supporting jobs and volunteering opportunities, and reducing UK carbon emissions. For more information on charity shops, please see the About Charity Shops page if you would like to find out more.