St Helena Hospice’s ‘Books, Brew and Boutique’ in Stanway has taken the title of East of England winner in The UK’s Favourite Charity Shop Awards. The shop, known locally as BBB, was one of 6,500 that were nominated across the UK and claimed the winning spot in the region in a public vote involving almost 13,000 people.
Wendy Nunn, shop manager of St Helena Books, Brew and Boutique, said:
“We are delighted and extremely proud to receive this exciting award and send a huge thank you to all who voted for us to be the of East of England’s favourite charity shop.
“BBB has a lovely community feel and we are one big happy family. Our volunteers are fantastic and truly do go above and beyond for St Helena Hospice.”
Books, Brew and Boutique is one of 24 St Helena shops across north east Essex. The BBB shop on Angora Business Park, Peartree Road, sells clothes, books and toys kindly donated by the community to raise funds to help people who face incurable illness and bereavement. The shop also houses a popular café serving hot drinks and cakes.
The St Helena shop is one of 12 finalists in the national awards, and the UK’s Favourite Charity Shop 2024 will be announced at a special event in November.
The awards are the first of their kind and were launched in June to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Charity Retail Association, the membership organisation for charity shops in the UK.
Robin Osterley, Chief Executive of the Charity Retail Association, said:
“Huge congratulations to St Helena Books, Brew and Boutique. This award is a testament to the dedication of the shop’s staff and volunteers, and highlights what this wonderful store means to the local community.
“We have been overwhelmed by the public’s response to our search for the UK’s Favourite Charity Shop, which celebrates the contribution the sector makes to communities and good causes across the UK.”
Visit www.sthelena.org.uk/shop for information about St Helena Hospice shops and online stores.
Photocaption:
SHH01 staff and volunteers at St Helena’s Books, Brew and Boutique celebrate being crowned East of England winner in The UK’s Favourite Charity Shop Awards.
SHH02 the café inside St Helena’s Books, Brew and Boutique
About St Helena Hospice
St Helena Hospice was established in 1985 and provides specialist end of life care and support for people living in north east Essex who face incurable illness and bereavement. The emphasis for this charity is about quality of life and services include the Hospice, Hospice in the Home, bereavement support, virtual ward, and SinglePoint 24/7 advice line and rapid response. More than 90% of support is carried out by the Hospice in the Home team in people’s own place of residence. 80% of the income needed to run St Helena is raised through the local community giving donations; buying in St Helena shops; playing Your Hospice Lottery; and leaving gifts in Wills. Vital funds for St Helena are also raised through supporting its commercial and social enterprise activities.
About the UK’s Favourite Charity Shop Awards
The Charity Retail Association launched the UK’s Favourite Charity Shop Awards in June 2024 as part of the organisation’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
In the first stage of the award process, members of the public were invited to nominate their favourite charity shop in the UK, sharing what they liked most about it and what it meant to them. Almost 6,500 nominations were received. The shortlisted stores were put to a public vote to determine twelve area winners. The UK’s Favourite Charity Shop 2024 will be announced at a special event in November.
www.charityretail.org.uk/the-uks-favourite-charity-shop-award
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