A leading local charity is appealing for people to donate unwanted Christmas presents to help re-stock its seven fundraising shops for the New Year.
The Beacon Centre for the Blind had its busiest ever shopping season in the run-up to Christmas, but that means its stores in Wolverhampton, Bilston, Bloxwich, Wednesbury, Cannock, Halesowen and the centre in Sedgley now urgently need more quality items for Black Country bargain hunters.
Tracey Ford, retail operations manager at the Beacon Centre for the Blind, said: “Everyone loves to give at Christmas, but sometimes what we receive isn’t quite what we were hoping for.
“If you have unopened toiletry sets or candles that aren’t the right scent for you, novelty socks you know you’ll never wear or household ornaments that don’t match your home décor, please consider bringing them to one of our charity shops.
“Your donation can help us to support visually impaired people across the West Midlands to lead more active and independent lives – and what could be more in keeping with the Christmas spirit?
“We would also appreciate quality used items, so if you are having a post-Christmas wardrobe detox, or you’re thinking of a New Year home revamp, we’d love to receive costume jewellery, handbags and accessories, books and DVDs or even furniture.
“The average bag of donations raises around £25 for the charity, so if you need to make space for all the goodies you gained over the festive season, please do consider bringing your pre-loved items to your nearest Beacon shop.”
All money raised from Beacon’s charity shops supports a full range of facilities and support for partially sighted people, including a mix of residential, day care and community services.
More than 3,000 people in the community receive support from a team of dedicated outreach workers and social groups can meet at the Sedgley centre to participate in arts and crafts, music, fitness and IT sessions.
To find out more visit www.beacon4blind.co.uk