A Highland charity has expressed its heartfelt thanks for the public’s support as they are forced to close their doors to handouts to meet demand.
The Highland Hospice has begun turning away donations from its Inverness Warehouse to help staff sift through the mountain of stock it has already received.
Charity shops in Dornoch, Aviemore and Grantown have now also reached capacity.
“It’s great stuff and it’s selling really well”
Andrew Leaver, head of fundraising and development urged the public to hold onto their prized items until doors reopen.
He said: “The quality of what we are getting is fantastic and we are absolutely thrilled that people want to give it to us. Our shops are selling it and selling it really well but we just can’t keep up with the volume and flow.
“If people would just hold onto their items for another couple of weeks, bring it in when we put out the message that we have reopened again, we may be able to just get on top of what we have got so far and ensure everything reaches its best value.”
Donations galore
The charity’s warehouse is set to remain closed for the remainder of this week and for the next two weekends.
Meanwhile, doors to Highland Hospice’s three Highland charity shops are expected to reopen for donations next week.
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The announcement marks the latest in a number of closures imposed by the charity to help cope with the surge in donations.
Just weeks after reopening to customers in June last year, warehouse staff became overwhelmed by the high volume of donations, forcing them to close their doors.
A temporary closure was also imposed in September for several days to meet the high demand.
Last week, a similar closure was imposed for two consecutive days as staff processed the donations received by the public in recent weeks.
New city charity shop
The latest announcement came just 24 hours after the charity opened the doors to its new flagship shop in the Eastgate Shopping Centre.
In October, the charity announced plans to move its existing store on Queens Gate to the former Laura Ashley store in the city’s Falcon Square.
In the opening days of trade, the shop outperformed the charity’s existing Highland shops, generating £2,600 in sales.
Mr Leaver thanked the public for their continued generosity.
He said: “It’s been going very well. We have had some really nice feedback from it and the sales are looking really healthy. On the two opening days, it was our best performing shop so hopefully it stays that way.
“It’s really heart-warming and a positive experience for us to know that people still want to shop with Highland Hospice and they are enjoying shopping with us and that it is a safe environment to come into.
“We are just delighted to see them back and are hugely appreciative of the support they are giving us by donating and by shopping.”