Since the launch of the scheme we have been proud to partner with some fantastic organisations who offer financial support to their communities. We work with local authorities, support agencies and charities, take a look at our case studies to see the good they are doing. If you would like to join these and many more to support the people you are working with, please get in touch info@thecharityshopgiftcard.co.uk
Warrington Borough Council
The Local Support Scheme at Warrington Borough Council uses The Charity Shop Gift Card to provide crisis funding for those in need of clothing and bedding.
The Council issue e-vouchers which are emailed to beneficiaries and include details of the items to be purchased. As part of the initial pilot, recipients were signposted by the council to the 10 participating St Rocco’s Hospice charity shops in the town but this is now being extended to include other regional and national charity shops locally.
Being able to offer The Charity Shop Gift Card as an extension to other provision meant “it plugged a gap in the local support” for the welfare team and has meant all spend on the cards has gone to support a local charity who provide incredible free hospice care to the Warrington local community.
Clothing Collective
The Charity Shop Gift Card partners with Clothing Collective to support the growing number of people in need as the cost-of-living crisis deepens.
For people experiencing financial hardship, clothing needs can get pushed down the list of priorities as food and fuel poverty are often the most pressing issues. This partnership supports people facing these challenges. Using The Charity Shop Gift Card’s redemption network, Clothing Collective are able to distribute gift cards to organisations around the country including Trussell Trust, Centrepoint and Migrant Help.
Founder of Clothing Collective, Antony Wroe, said: “Clothing Collective is so pleased to be partnering with an organisation that is trying to reduce the stigma around charity shopping. The partnership is creating an infrastructure that makes distributing the Cards easy and the process of using them free from judgement.”
Trussell Trust B30 Foodbank
Utility Aid kindly funded gift cards to form part of our research with the Trussell Trust B30 Foodbank, conducted by Shine Research.
Participants were each given The Charity Shop Gift Card worth £20 and signposted to use it at participating Acorns charity shops and to spend it how they saw fit.
Most of the beneficiaries surveyed said they would prefer to receive The Charity Shop Gift Card for clothing and home items over a supermarket or high street retailer voucher and they reported a range of physical and mental health benefits.
Items purchased by recipients included practical items like an electric food grill, blender and a child’s winter coat. Others bought items to assist in improving their mental health; a radio to reduce loneliness and feelings of isolation, books for escapism, a teddy for a child to give them a treat and a board game to increase family bonding time.
The community benefits of charity shops was clearly apparent in this study with recipients reporting “they helped me..looked after my foodbank stuff while I looked around” and “it was a lot more than I expected. Very friendly, absolutely brilliant” with another noting “the hospice looked after my nan before she passed away so it’s very close to my heart”.
Full case study case be downloaded here.
Refugee Council
The Charity Shop Gift Card partnered with the Refugee Council to raise funds for gift cards so people arriving in the UK can shop with dignity and choice in the charity shops on their local high streets.
The Refugee Council is a charity that works with refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK and exists to support and empower people who have made the heart-breaking decision to flee conflict, violence and persecution in their own country.
Natasha Raspudic, Philanthrophy and Corporate Partnerships Officer from The Refugee Council, said “The Charity Shop Gift Card is a fantastic way for refugee communities to be able to access essential items in a way that promotes dignity and choice, and gives them the freedom to choose the items that would suit them best.”
