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04
Nov 2020
Harrogate district charity shops count the cost of lockdown
Many charities will be left counting the cost of another lockdown when their shops are forced to close tomorrow.
It took many stores a long time to re-open after the first lockdown and now their attempts to raise funds for charitable causes are to be hindered again.
Charity shops are a big part of the retail scene in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham.
Ripon's 10th charity shop was all set to open, but Martin House will now have to wait at least a month before serving its first customers.
When the first lockdown of non-essential retailers ended in June, the charity, which provides family-led care for young people with life-limiting conditions, took over large premises on Fishergate.
Martin House's £2.2m loss
At the time, the charity projected a £2.2 million loss of planned income stretching into summer 2021.
Stephanie Rimmington, the head of retail, said:
Further down Fishergate, The Oxfam shop remains closed, having never reopened since the first covid lockdown in March.
Read more:
- Call for Harrogate district businesses to donate food to people in need
- Salvation Army is ready to help families in the Ripon area
Saint Michael's, which has shops in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough, spends £6 million per year on hospice care from its base in Crimple Valley.
With one in three people in the Harrogate district requiring hospice care or support at some point in their lives, the demand for its services is unrelenting.
A Saint Michael's spokesperson pointed out:
The money required is £15,000 a day and there is reliance on the income from retail shops, alongside bequests, personal donations and fundraising events, which pay for 80 percent of the charity's work.
British Heart Foundation shop closure
Today marks the last day of trading for the British Heart Foundation books and music shop in Beulah Street, Harrogate.
Like the clothing and bric-a-brac shop it once had further down the street, it will not be reopening.
While shops close, either temporarily or for good, all of the organisations involved - both local and national - continue their work despite the difficult times that they face.
In an appeal for financial donations, the British Heart Foundation, said:
Though the shops are closed, there are other ways of supporting the work of all charities and details can be found on their respective websites.
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