A sustainable solution to welfare assistance
We want to share all the things we love about charity shopping with people who are experiencing financial hardship; value for money, choice, sustainability and community.
Millions of people across the UK are living in poverty, having to make decisions between putting food on the table and heating their homes. For many of these families, items like clothing, homewares, furniture, white goods become a luxury rather than essentials but The Charity Shop Gift Card can help with that.
Councils and other support agencies can purchase the charity cards as part of their welfare assistance offering, to help financially vulnerable individuals and families. But the good doesn’t stop there – when The Charity Shop Gift Card is spent in participating retailers, it supports the great causes they represent. It also protects the environment by keeping useable clothing and other items out of landfill, reducing carbon emissions and reducing production stress on the environment.
And as a social enterprise, a minimum of 65% of our profits will go towards funding charity gift cards for good causes to donate to the communities they are supporting.
“[The Charity Shop Gift Card] give[s] you the opportunity to buy the things you really need, when you need them… get things that suit your tastes not just what is available at the time…help you create your home not just furnish a house”
Survivor of domestic abuse
“…Thank you so much. The voucher you sent was delivered… this afternoon. He was so touched by your generosity that he welled up with tears and asked that I pass on his sincere thanks.
Thanks for thinking of us. These vouchers will make such a difference to those who receive them”
Salvation Army
“…freedom of choice empowers some people (who previously may have had little power) to exercise control over their lives and their futures. Their sense of satisfaction is immense and they also feel that they’re contributing to the environment as well as having more than they might have done from new.”
Teaching Staff Trust
Community
As we’ve seen during the pandemic and following the refugee crisis, our communities can be amazingly strong when they pull together. We can build on this by asking local people to donate their quality items to participating charity shops so that people receiving The Charity Shop Gift Card as part of the welfare assistance can access fantastic preloved goods. Giving people in need the option to use The Charity Shop Gift Card empowers them to have choice over their purchases, shop sustainably and help others.
Economy
The Charity Shop Gift Card contributes to the circular economy and sees citizens, councils and service users support the local high street and the local economy. It promotes the idea of ‘shop small, shop local’, provides employment and volunteering opportunities, supports local charities and hospices and reduces landfill tax. Charity shops are hubs that reflect the local community in their diversity, goods and pricing.
Environment
Offering The Charity Shop Gift Card as one a way of providing financial assistance can help reduce carbon emissions associated with the purchase of new, mass produced items. The Charity Retail Association includes reduction of carbon emissions, bulky waste collections and landfill as some of the benefits of charity shopping. It promotes recycling within the community, empowers its recipients to make sustainable shopping choices and can introduce a whole new audience to the benefits of buying preloved.
Work with us
Providing emergency funds through The Charity Shop Gift Card can be a lifeline, benefitting both physical and mental health. But don’t just take our word for it, read our research here on the impact of gift cards given out through a Trussell Trust foodbank.
Corporate social responsibility – give the gift of thrift
The Charity Shop Gift Card can help with your Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Why not buy some gift cards to give out to your local foodbank, refuge or homeless shelter? You could ask your employees to support this even further by getting them to donate their quality preloved items to participating charity shops so that people using the card have even more fantastic items to choose from. And you will be supporting charity shops in your region.
If you’re not sure where to donate The Charity Shop Gift Card, we can help find organisations that would benefit from your support. For any more information on how you can work with us and the initiatives in your area, please contact:
info@thecharityshopgiftcard.co.uk
Lee Fellows visiting Coventry Foodbank to distribute cards to families receiving support from the Trussel Trust.
We are a proud Social Enterprise. We’re excited to continue our journey and keep giving back to charities & communities.
Sarah visiting the Trussel Trust foodbank to hand out gift cards that can be spent in Hospiscare shops in Devon.
