The shop on High Street, Bloxwich, was targeted overnight between Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th February, with thieves gaining entry by smashing the glass panel on the front door.
Discovered on Tuesday morning by the shop manager, the aftermath revealed damage to the till and theft of an iPad, as well as thousands of pounds worth of damaged stock, leaving a significant repair bill for St Giles Hospice.
This is the second break in at a St Giles charity shop in less than two months, causing loss of income to the local charity which relies heavily on its retail operation to raise the funds needed to provide its vital hospice services.
Nicola Brannen Mott, Head of Retail at St Giles Hospice, said: “We are heartbroken to face yet another break in, so soon after our Kingstanding shop was targeted in December.
“This has caused more heartache to our community, along with additional bills to pay for repairs – money which should have been spent on supporting our patients and their loved ones.
“Not only do we have the repair bill, but over £1,000 worth of stock has been damaged that could have been sold to raise vital funds. We’ve also lost more in potential sales, as we’ve had no choice but to close the store for a period of time to clean up the mess caused.
“Only 25% of our income comes from the Government, meaning the rest of the income needed to run St Giles is raised by our local community.”
West Midlands Police has been informed of the incident and anyone who may have witnessed the break in or knows anything about the incident is being urged to contact them.
Nicola added: “We are working closely with West Midlands Police and are grateful for their support with this matter. If you know anything about the incident, please do get in touch with them.”
Donations towards the loss of funds would be very welcome to support St Giles. Donate here: www.justgiving.com/campaign/stgileshospicebloxwich
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St Giles Hospice is a registered charity offering specialist palliative and end of life care, free of charge for people living with terminal illnesses, as well as providing support for their families and carers. Our services are rated as‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission.
We care for patients from across our catchment area, which ranges from the West Midlands to East Staffordshire.
Care is offered at the hospice’s centres in Whittington and Sutton Coldfield as well as in patients’ own homes across the region.
We spend around £10million a year providing our specialist services and, with 25% of this funded by the Government, we rely heavily on donations and income generation from the local community.
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