Charities are appealing to the public to donate any unwanted gifts they may have received for Christmas.
Barnardos has said the money raised from selling on the gifts provides crucial funding to keep their services running.
“It really is important. Our shops are a vital way for us to raise the money that we need to keep our services for children and families going,” says Mary Gamble, the charity’s director of funding, speaking at their central warehouse where volunteers are sifting through the latest donations.
Director of Funding at Barnardos, Mary Gamble
Among the gifts donated since Christmas, are various Lego sets, books, and a brand-new Xbox.
The season of giving may be officially over for now, but the charity is asking the public to continue to donate any unwanted presents they have received.
“Now, I know that that might seem quite horrible,” says Mary Gamble, “but sometimes people do get gifts that they don’t particularly want, or they might have the double of it at home. And what we’re asking people to do is, instead of leaving it there for the whole year, just gathering dust on the shelf, bring it into us, donate it because we can then turn it into something amazing and raise funds for the children and families that we work with all over Ireland.”
An XBOX games console was among the items donated to Barnardos
Ideally, the charity is looking for brand new gifts. Clothes, handbags, and footwear are easy to sell on they say. Toys should, preferably, be unopened.
“Some of the donated stuff that we get is absolutely amazing. We get amazing handbags, clothes, footwear. It’s an absolute treasure trove of goods and products that we have in our stores. So, we’re really grateful to everybody, because we have had such amazing support throughout the year last year as well,” she says.
“The things that sell really well are handbags, accessories, really good quality clothing and footwear. People love them.
“We also take books, records, DVDs, collectibles, ornaments, anything at all, but those things, like the accessories, handbags, shoes and good quality clothing, are the things that actually will fly out the door.
“Toys are great, but we have to make sure that they are actually extremely good quality and actually brand new, because we can’t sell them on if they’re not otherwise,” she says.
The donations end up in Barnardos shops and sold on to customers at a discount.
Colette Miller is the retail operations manager.
“Our shops are becoming more and more popular. We see lots of young people coming over the door, which is something new. And I think lots of people are interested in sustainability,” she says, adding that their Christmas appeal is critical for the running of its services.
Collete Miller says the funds raised in the Barnardos shops is vital for the running of the charity
“This campaign is really important for Barnardos. It helps us raise the vital funds that we need to keep our children and family services in operation. The campaign is growing in strength to strength year on year, and we can’t thank the public enough for the donations that they’ve given us, because they’re really helping us to achieve the €10 million that we need to work with our 36,000 children and families across Ireland,” she said.