Shining a light on outstanding hospice care and the role of charity shops in Somerset this Hospice Care Week
This week (7-11 October) marks Hospice Care Week, a national celebration of all that is great about the 200+ local hospices, which provide compassionate care for our communities across the UK.
We can now also describe that care as outstanding in Somerset, as St Margaret’s enters Hospice Care Week high on the news that we were rated as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following a routine inspection in July.
Not only are we thrilled that the hospice has been recognised for being effective, caring, and responsive but our staff were applauded for their kindness, attentiveness, and their ability to meet the unique needs of patients and their families. Crucially, the hospice was also commended for its focus on patient safety and its innovative approach to end-of-life care.
Every day we see examples of this outstanding care, but it certainly feels special when others publicly acknowledge and praise what we do day-in and day-out, and timely that we can share and celebrate this news during Hospice Care Week!
Funding hospice care for the future
Yet while Hospice Care Week is a chance to shine a spotlight on the incredible people and stories that drive the hospice movement, it’s also an opportunity to highlight the funding challenges that all hospices face today.
The reality is that it’s only thanks to the generosity of local communities and charitable funding that most hospices can survive. Funding from Government via the NHS is vitally important and welcomed, but it’s simply not enough to pay for the full range of services we provide to meet the increasing demand that hospices face.
Last year 72% of St Margaret’s income was raised by our local community through supporting fundraising events, playing our weekly prize draw, donating, and buying from our 31 charity shops as well as through donations made in memory of loved ones and generous gifts left in Wills. That’s over £10m we need to raise every single year to ensure we can continue delivering outstanding hospice care for the people of Somerset.
Celebrating the vital role of hospice charity shops
A significant and growing proportion of that £10m came from profits generated by St Margaret’s wonderful charity shops. Anyone who has visited our shops, will know that they offer a warm welcome, as well as an eclectic range of affordable pre-loved goods. But what hospice charity shops on high streets up and down the country are also doing, is delivering more income towards hospice care than Government funding.
That’s why, this Hospice Care Week local hospices across the UK are shining a light on their charity shops, and celebrating the huge benefits they bring to our local communities.
Last year, some two million people shopped with St Margaret’s helping to generate 57,000 more transactions than the year before, creating sales of over £6m. Backed by an army of volunteers, the shops not only provide a vital income for the charity, but are also a focal point for their local communities.
Each of our shops is unique and holds a special place in their heart of its local neighbourhood or town. And while all the shops, share a common vision and purpose, each one is run by a manager who knows their local community inside out and can deliver a shopping experience that suits their customer’s needs. So, what works for our shop in the village of Dulverton, will be quite different to what drives sales in the centre of Taunton’s town centre or on the coast in Minehead. Our flagship furniture shop in Yeovil has its own unique approach to trading and will be embracing Hospice Care Week by supporting St Margaret’s ‘Wear it Yellow’ campaign.
An Oscar winning performance from the Old Cinema shop
Yeovil’s former cinema became our fabulously quirky furniture shop back in 2015. Located within walking distance from the town centre of Yeovil, this iconic Art Deco building now provides 12,000 square foot of retail space over three floors, selling pre-loved furniture as well as a selection of new beds and mattresses. The team also manage a volunteer logistics team, who serve the surrounding St Margaret’s shops, collecting and delivering furniture to customers, as well as supporting with the logistics of sorting and moving stock of donated clothes around our other shops in Yeovil and the surrounding area.
Managed by Darrell and his dedicated team, the shop is a much-loved presence in Yeovil serving a diverse range of customers, including families, students, and organisations in need of affordable high-quality furniture. Like all our shops, the Old Cinema relies on the commitment of local people and has a thriving volunteering team, which includes welcoming volunteers from the local Community Payback Scheme.
A building with a past you could make a film about – it was rumoured to have been where the notorious Ronnie Biggs stole the cinema’s takings and staff wages to bank-role his part in the Great Train Robbery – the Old Cinema is today an excellent example of how hospices are benefiting from the financial support of their charity shops.
Capitalising on the pent-up demand for good quality furniture as families renovated homes and focused on staycations during three lockdowns, and now helping people furnish their homes, without costing the earth during the cost-of-living crisis, the Old Cinema continues to see trade booming. The shop is also a dedicated donation station, as you can drive up to the front of the cinema, park for free, and drop off goods.
Last year the Old Cinema grossed sales of almost £800k smashing all records and establishing itself as one of St Margaret’s highest performing income streams as a single shop!
The Old Cinema put on an ‘Oscar’ worthy performance last year, and its success mirrors that of the whole St Margaret’s retail operation, which achieved its highest ever profits to support our ongoing care of families in Somerset. Hospice charity shops play a vital role, not just keeping the high street alive, and local economies dynamic and vibrant, but by providing jobs, work experience and opportunities for like-minded people to come together to volunteer and find companionship. Not to mention the positive impact they have on the environment, which in St Margaret’s case helped to save over 1.5m kilograms of pre-loved items heading to landfill and made over 19,000 tons of CO2 savings last year.
So, this Hospice Care Week you can show your support of your local hospice in several ways – but one of the most powerful is by continuing to shop with St Margaret’s. Whether it’s the Old Cinema or one of our other 31 shops, you can pick up a fabulous yellow garment and join in our ‘Wear it Yellow’ campaign or browse and find a treasure you simply didn’t realise you needed – knowing that every penny you spend helps to keep our nurses delivering ‘outstanding’ care to families across Somerset.
