THE British Heart Foundation (BHF) is to re-open its Redditch town centre shop next Monday, July 27, and is urging local residents to support it in the charity’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis.
The store are among 750 BHF shops that have been shut since early March due to the pandemic.
The charity estimates the crisis has been costing it around £10million a month, which it fears could impact its future funding for research.
Now it is asking the local community to support it by donating good quality items or popping in to snap up a bargain.
Every item donated and sold will helps raise funds for research into heart and circulatory diseases.
The Redditch shop, in Market Place, Church Green, will have measures in place to keep staff, volunteers and customers safe, including social distancing on the shopfloor, protective equipment for staff and volunteers, and contact free collection and processing of donated items.
Allison Swaine-Hughes, retail director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Our charity shops run purely on the support of the public, which is why we treasure every customer who shops with us. Every item we sell helps fund our vital research.
“The coronavirus crisis has had a devastating impact on our income, and we anticipate having to cut our research budget by around £50 million this year. Now, more than ever, we are in urgent need of public support and donations to enable us to continue to support the charity’s important work.
“Each pound raised in our shops helps us to support those 660,000 people in the West Midlands living with heart and circulatory diseases, many of whom are at increased risk from Covid-19. Your donations can help us help them.
“We are hugely grateful for the patience of all our customers and look forward to welcoming you back very soon.”
The charity said £100 raised from donations can fund a DNA extraction kit to identify genes linked to heart and circulatory diseases.
