Treetops Hospice is the latest charity nationwide to sign up to the first gift card that can be used exclusively in charity shops.
The Charity Shop Gift Card will be on sale and accepted in eighteen of Treetops shops located across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Proceeds from the shops help provide nursing care and emotional support for adults with a life-limiting condition, those who’ve been bereaved and their families.
The Gift Card scheme supports the growing demand for second-hand items being led by environmentally aware Gen Z and Millennials. It also helps to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Sara McLuckie, Head of Retail for Treetops Hospice, said:
“We are really pleased to be joining this growing scheme. It will give new customers an introduction to our charity shops and the wide range of quality goods we have to offer. This will in turn increase revenue for the hospice so we can support even more local patients and their families.
“The gift cards also help people shop more sustainably, something that has come into even more focus of late”.
Lee Fellows, Managing Director of The Charity Shop Gift Card, said:
“The gift card market is huge and growing, and central to our aim is to come up with a nationally-accepted, multi-retailer scheme that allows charity shops to tap into that for the first time.”
The gift cards themselves are recyclable and compostable and will be on sale to consumers online at www.thecharityshopgiftcard.co.uk, and at many supermarkets and other major retailers.
According to the Charity Retail Association, across the UK, charity shops save councils £31million a year in waste disposal charges by diverting 339,000 tonnes of textiles away from landfill or incineration.
About The Charity Shop Gift Card
The concept for the Charity Shop Gift Card came about in late 2019.
Co-founder Sarah Cox had been wanting to find a way to create a gift card that can be used by families and individuals with urgent needs, similar to the government food voucher scheme.
She understands the hardship families can face and experienced this first hand when circumstances meant she had leave to the family home, with her children, and rebuild their lives from scratch, mainly relying on donations of clothing and furniture.
A desire to connect people in her situation with the items in charity shops without the charity losing out was her inspiration and motivation to develop ideas that would become part of the charity shop gift card scheme.
At the same time Richard Bradley, CEO of Acceptcards, an independent broker of merchant services which has grown to be one of the most trusted brands in payments, and his daughter, Lottie Bradley, Retail Design Manager for Save the Children, were discussing the idea of a gift card that could be spent across the charity retail sector.
Having great contacts in the gift card market due to his running of Acceptcards, Richard spoke to a number of businesses and experts to find out why a charity shop gift card didn’t exist, and approached former colleague, Lee Fellows, who has held senior roles in a number of payments companies including EML Payments, a global prepaid issuer and processor.
Sarah was introduced to Richard and Lee by the Charity Retail Association, and together they have a shared mission to help create a compelling product that helps both charities and individuals, which is now being rolled out across the country.
**Key statistics from the Charity Retail Association
http://www.charityretail.org.uk/key-statistics
At the end of the 2020/21 financial year, The Charity Retail Association had 449 members operating 9,227 shops.
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Photo Caption: Sarah Meeson, Shop Manager, Treetops Charity Shop, Oakwood
About Treetops Hospice
Treetops Hospice, the leading end-of-life care charity in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, provides nursing care and emotional support for adults with life-limiting conditions, and their families.
The charity provides support from diagnosis onwards for patients with conditions such as cancer, motor neurone disease and heart and respiratory conditions.
Founded in 1983, Treetops supports thousands of local people – and their families – through the most difficult time of their lives. Last year, our team of Hospice at Home nurses provided over 34,000 hours of care to terminally-ill patients, working day and night to give much-needed support.
We have a team of bereavement counsellors who provide over 4,000 counselling sessions – over 900 of them to children and young people. Wellbeing team members provide valuable information and support to those who need it, while our experts in end-of life care and bereavement support dedicate many hours to training NHS staff about death and dying.
Treetops are lucky to have over 400 amazing volunteers who help to keep the hospice running smoothly.
Treetops is doing all it can to continue to support those in most need and welcomes donations to ensure the future of the hospice and its services: www.treetopshospice.org.uk/donate
A counselling session for a bereaved child costs £34. An overnight Hospice at Home nursing shift for a patient at the end of life costs £108.
Treetops Hospice, Derby Road, Risley, Derbyshire, DE72 3SS
0115 949 1264 | www.treetopshospice.org.uk
Registered Charity Number 519540
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