Charity shops all over town are currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions and therefore not able to accept bags of donated goods.
Unfortunately this hasn’t stopped piles of bags filled with donations being dumped outside the shops by people decluttering their homes during lockdown and hoping to do some good for the charities.
Many of the shops have signs in the shop windows asking donators not to leave any donations outside, but many have ignored these warnings leaving either the council or the charity themselves are going to have to foot the bill to clean up the donations which were left.
Local charity, the Prospect Hospice, recently launched their first online store and are now offering to come and pick up your donations from your home, saving you transporting them into town and them going to waste.
‘We are excited to announce that we have introduced a home collection service in some areas, whilst our shops are closed, where you can request a home collection for us to come and pick up your pre-loved items’ they said.
‘If you’ve had a post-Christmas sort out and have unwanted new gifts or pre-loved clothes, homeware or vinyl that you would like to donate to the hospice, we’d love to take them off your hands. Your donations will be helping to raise the vital funds that are really needed right now to support people in our community.’
What we really need at the moment
- Clean Clothes, shoes and accessories
- Quality homeware
- Pictures/Art (accepted at our discretion)
- Jewellery, watches, collectables
- Old or current foreign currency, old English coins
- Puzzles (complete)and boxed games(complete)
- Kids toys (complete, accepted at our discretion)
- Books, CDs, DVDs, vinyl, gaming
- Small electrical goods (clean working condition)
- Unwanted Christmas gifts or new items
Items we’re unable to accept at the moment
- Small items of furniture
- Dirty or damaged clothes/shoes/accessories
- Hand knits
- Bridal
- Used quilts/pillows
- Nursery items
- Soft toys without CE label
- Bath seats/toilet seats/potties/commodes
- Child car seats /booster seats
- Ice skates/roller skates /skate boards
- Buoyancy aids/life jackets /inflatables
- Protective headgear
- Bicycles (accepted at our discretion)
- Corner units
- Furniture with no fire labels
- Glass TV stands
- Hi-Fi cabinets
- Headboards
- Mattresses
- Roller/venetian blinds (unless in original packaging with safety instructions)
- Computer monitors/desk top PC’s
- Digital cameras
- External hard drives
- Laptops/tablets
- Smart phones
- White goods
- Cookers/hobs
- Electric blankets
- Face saunas
- Fans
- Foot spas
- Heated rollers
- Hostess trolley
- Light fittings
- Massage tools
- Modems
- Personal grooming tools
- Sky boxes
- Steam mops
- Sun beds/tanning equipment
- Trouser press
- Cassettes
- Pornography
- VHS
- Coat hangers
- Gas, oil or petrol fuelled appliances
- Loose knives
- Unsold car boot items
- Un-boxed Christmas trees and decorations
- Weapons/guns/ammunition
- Canvas prints
- Picture frames
Collections are currently limited however check out the Prospect Hospice website where more collection dates will be added (normally on a Monday).
Pewsey between 10am and 2.30pm on the following days.
Tuesday 2 February until Thursday 4 February
Marlborough between 10am and 2.30pm on the following days.
Tuesday 9 February until Thursday 11 February
How it works
- Place your pre-loved items or unwanted new gifts into bags or boxes (where possible, we ask if you can use recyclable bags). Collection will be for a minimum of 2 bags/boxes and a maximum of 6 bags/boxes.
- Send an email to CollectMyDonations@prospect-hospice.net and include your name, address with postcode and how many bags/boxes you will be donating. You will receive a confirmation email from the hospice to acknowledge receipt of your request.
- You will then receive an email to confirm the date that we will be collecting your donated items. Please confirm that this date is convenient for you.
- On the day of your collection, we ask that you leave your donated items outside the front of your house clearly labelled for Prospect Hospice. Our drivers will be in Prospect Hospice vans and will be wearing PPE. We are asking for your donation to be outside to avoid any unnecessary contact and to keep our drivers and you safe.
- Your donated items will be taken back to our distribution centre, and stored for 48 hours before being sorted.
If it is raining on the day of your collection, please do not put your donation outside as we will be unable to collect any donations left out in the rain.
We are unable to collect from a household where a member is suffering from Covid-19 symptoms, is self-isolating or has tested positive within the last 14 days.
