Unsaleable donations cost hospice charity thousands

A hospice charity which cares for seriously ill babies, children and young people in Devon is losing thousands of pounds a year due to unsaleable donations.

Last year Children’s Hospice South West spent £105,302 on waste disposal across all its shops.

Locally, this meant spending £2,756 on waste disposal for the Tavistock shop and £1,155 for the Okehampton shop.

To put that into perspective, £100,000 is the total cost to keep one CHSW hospice running for one week; including all care, at home and in the community.

This amount could also pay for six weeks of end-of-life care for a child and support for their family.

The charity needs to raise more than £16 million each year to keep its three children’s hospices open and raise the funds needed to continue providing care.

CHSW is the only children’s hospice providing hospice care across the South West, with hospices in Devon, North Somerset and Cornwall. Its services are provided free of charge to more than 500 families.

Chris Judd, head of retail at CHSW, said: “Our supporters are incredibly generous and we’re always so grateful for the good quality items people donate to our shops. Every item we are able to sell helps us raise much-needed funds to support families across the South West.”

From clothes and shoes to books, toys and household items, there are lots of things the charity’s shops are delighted to accept, as long as they are in good condition.

However, Chris says people are often surprised to discover that there are some items CHSW cannot sell, due to regulations, even when they are in good condition.

"These include items such as car seats, used cot mattresses, bikes and safety equipment, hot water bottles, mobility aids and soft toys without the CE marking,” he said.

"Other donations cannot be sold because of their condition. Stained or damaged clothing, ripped books, jigsaw puzzles with missing pieces and broken crockery are examples of items which need to be recycled or disposed of."

In the past, like many other charity shops, CHSW was able to generate some income from certain donated items that were not suitable for sale by selling them on for recycling or reuse. However, changes in the recycling market mean CHSW now has to pay to recycle or dispose of them.

Chris stressed: “We’re not asking people to stop donating. Quite the opposite. Our shops rely on the fantastic quality donations we receive from our supporters. We would simply ask people to take a moment before donating to check that their items are clean, complete, safe and in a condition that somebody else would be happy to buy. We also ask people to have a look at the list on our website of things we’re unable to sell before bringing donations into their local shop."

“The more donated items we can sell, the more money we can raise to support children and families, while also reducing the amount we have to spend disposing of items we cannot use.”

CHSW is also asking that donations are brought into its shops during opening hours.

Items left outside can be damaged by the weather or stolen, while bags can also create a fire hazard. If donations become damaged, they may no longer be suitable for sale and could ultimately cost the charity money to dispose of.

Most importantly, though, Chris is keen that people keep donating.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the continued support we receive from people in Okehampton and Tavistock and we want people to know just how much their donations are valued.”

Find out more at Donate items | Childrens Hospice South West.

If you know someone who could benefit from the support and care provided by Children’s Hospice South West, encourage them to visit the CHSW website to find out about services available and make a self-referral Children's Hospice South West | Making the most of short and precious lives