Barnardos children’s charity is calling on the public to donate any unwanted Christmas gifts to their shops.
Many of us received Christmas presents that we will never use and Barnardos are looking to take them off your hands. All the proceeds from the donated items will go towards the charity’s work with children and families across Ireland.
Barnardos spokesperson Colette Miller told Dublin Live they’ve run the initiative for the last number of years and it greatly helps families. “I think all of us at some point or another have received a gift that for whatever reason we didn't particularly like, or maybe we have it already. We are asking people to donate to Barnardos any gifts that they received that they don't really want.”
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But what are the things that people are looking for when they go to buy something in charity shops? “Given the current climate people are coming into our shops looking for value,” Colette said. “So, in our shops, we sell everything. We have clothing, we have children's toys, books, we have all of those things. We have people coming in – obviously all of us are on a tighter budget – so they're looking to see can they make their money last longer.”
The charity are currently seeing a big demand for children’s clothing, but one thing Colette warns about is giving second hand electrical items as the shops can't guarantee they are safe.. “I can't really say about the gifts, but in general, when people give us second hand electrical items, that's a problem.”
Toys can also sometimes be an issue. You should make sure the toys you donate don’t have any missing parts “because then it's not helpful for us, we need to be able to sell a toy in perfect condition to another family”.
Toiletries, shampoos, makeup and perfumes are also really popular. They usually get lots of those donated in January. Barnardos are even planning on organising a special event for Mother’s Day so that even families that are on a very tight budget can come and get something really nice to give to their mum.
Buying things from charity shops is no longer associated with the stigma it once had. There was once a time where people felt that charity shops were only for people “absolutely on the poverty line” but that’s no longer true. “The charity shop is for everybody in the community.” Another thing that is quite popular is sustainability and Barnardos shops see lots of people making a conscious choice to buy second-hand clothing.
Unfortunately, it’s not only sustainability that’s driving people to go to charity shops – the cost-of-living crisis resulted in the charity having one of their busiest years in 2022. Colette said, “Last year we saw customers in the community that we have never met before. Particularly when the weather was cold, there was a big demand for good quality, warm clothing for everybody – for children, for the moms, for the dads – and we were thankfully able to offer that.”
They also saw an increased demand around back to school time in 2022. The shops were able to offer good quality school bags, socks, runners – all the items the children need to go back to school.
If you wish to donate any unwanted gifts this year, you can find your nearest Barnardos shop and opening hours here . Barnardos Shops Manager Bernadette Harrington said: “The funds brought in from each donated item will go directly towards our work with just under 17,000 children and families in communities across the country, ensuring our work can continue to support those who need it. Because childhood lasts a lifetime.”
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