NSPCC, Dyserth District

Hello everyone, and a happy New Year.

Now, in the last edition we mentioned about our shop/staff being nominated for the prestigious Esther Award, which is part of the NSPCC People Awards 2023. Well, we won it!!!

Through the generosity of the Bowling Club and the Community Council, we were able to take part via video link on the big screen. We were all on tenterhooks as they went through to nominees, then the announcement of the winner given by actress, Natalie Dormer, better known for her role in Game of Thrones. The room exploded in cheers, followed by laughter when we realised that we were announced as “Dieserth”. We’ll have to change the road signs now!

This success is not only a reflection of all the hard work that goes into running our shop, but also the incredible generosity of those that donate the huge volume of items that we are able to sell.

It is worth noting that everything we sell in the shop comes from donations, we purchase nothing. And then of course, we have our customers. So this award could only have been achieved with all this coming together, therefore everyone should take a bow.

Well, coming down to earth somewhat, this success brings with it other challenges.

Amongst the volume of donated items we receive on a daily basis, we find items that aren’t saleable and they have to be disposed of as waste, and this costs us. To add to this, from April the law changes for businesses and charities and we will have to start sorting all waste material into three categories, this means three containers which means additional costs.

Sorry to bore you with this but it would be most helpful to us if we can give you some guidance as to what we are able to take:

• Anything you think is saleable, other than electrical items.

• Nothing damaged or broken.

• Textiles – yes, we sell anything unsellable in the shop on to a company.

• Shoes and handbags, as above.

• Only drop off your donations when the shop is open.

To keep costs down we need to limit what we dispose of, whether it is for landfill or re-cycling, so your help in this regard would be most appreciated.

Here’s to another record-breaking year.

The NSPCC Volunteers xxx