April 2017

t: 01454 300 400

info@bradleystokejournal.co.uk

23

News Fantastic first year for Barnardo’s in Stoke Gifford

F

undraisers are celebrating the success of a Stoke Gifford charity shop which has received thousands of bags of donations. Barnardo’s opened a new store in Ratcliffe Drive (next to Tesco Express) last March. Since then the charity has received more than 5,000 bags of clothing, accessories, homeware, books, toys and games. Barnardo’s has also been supported by a group of hard-working volunteers who contributed hundreds of hours to help with sorting the stock and serving customers. The Stoke Gifford team celebrated their success by holding a party on Saturday, 11th March which featured facepainting, cupcakes, a tombola, a lucky dip and the cutting of a specially-decorated cake The store is managed by Hannah Jones together with store associate Julie Britt. Hannah said: “We wanted to arrange a special ‘thank you’ for everyone who has worked so hard during our first year.” “We have an amazing team of ten volunteers aged from 14 to 76

years old who offer so much of their own time each week. Their commitment has played a vital role in our success.” Hannah added: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity and support of the local community throughout the past twelve months.” “The number of donations has been fantastic, but we’ve also received some very unusual items - including a miniature set of Shakespeare books from the 1920s which were just three inches wide!” “We look forward to receiving many more items which can be re-sold to support the charity’s work with the UK’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.” The Stoke Gifford store is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5.30pm and on Sundays from 10am to 4pm. There are still vacancies for potential volunteers to join. Please call 0117 931 4115 to find out more. Barnardo’s also manages stores in Henleaze, Filton, Fishponds and Chipping Sodbury. ● www.barnardos.org.uk

We’re Bradley Stoke’s