Almost 100 of the 234 Society of St Vincent de Paul Vincent’s charity shops throughout the country, including Ennis, will begin re-opening on Monday next, 8 June.
The Vincent’s shops closed their doors on March 16th following the introduction of HSE and government restrictions. This has resulted in a considerable loss of income, which would have been recycled directly back into the community.
“We are committed to ensuring the well-being of our customers and donors as well as staff and volunteers in the shops,” said Dermot McGilloway, SVP national retail development manager. “With that in mind we have a robust and detailed action plan for each shop in relation to cleaning, sorting donations, assisting customers, signage and a range of other issues. All Vincent’s customers can be assured that they will be entering clean, well-organised shops, which are adhering to all the recommended social distancing and health and safety requirements.
“We will be delighted to receive much needed donations at each of our shops as they re- open after 12 weeks of closure and we would ask for your ongoing patience and understanding as we seek to receive and process these donations in compliance with social distancing requirements. We will quarantine all donated clothing and textiles for 72 hours before we prepare them for sale,” he said.
To coincide with the re-opening of Vincent’s shops, regular donors will be offered a reusable cotton donation bag, whilst stocks last. Dermot McGilloway said: “Vincent’s retail is committed to supporting the circular economy and this initiative is in keeping with our reduce, re-use, recycle philosophy. The intention of introducing these reusable donation bags is to reduce the use of single use plastic / black bin liners from the initial stage of our sorting process.”
Vincent’s charity shops are a very important aspect of the service SVP provides. They are managed by a small number of professionals, assisted by a large number of volunteers and by community employment trainees. The profits generated from the charity shops, some of which also supply furniture, are recycled into local Conferences around Ireland to support those in need.
Local SVP Conferences can also provide people with Vincent’s Gift Tokens for clothing and furniture, which they can use in any of the shops The second-hand clothes and other items donated to Vincent’s charity shops make a difference to people in need in their communities.
To find your nearest SVP shop go to www.svp.ie/shops Call 01 8386990.
A full list of the shops re-opening can be found here.