Charity shop

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charity stores or thrift stores are retail companies run by charitable organizations to raise money. Charity stores are a type of social enterprise. They sell mainly used items such as clothing, books, music albums, home videos, and furniture donated by community members, and are often run by volunteers. Since the items for sale are free, and business costs are low, goods can be sold at competitive prices. After the fee is paid, all remaining revenue from the sale is used in accordance with the stated charitable purposes of the organization. Costs include purchase and/or depreciation of equipment (clothes racks, bookcases, counters, etc.), Operating costs (maintenance, municipal service charges, electricity, heat, telephone, limited advertising) and rental or mortgage rental.

Video Charity shop

Terminology

The charity shop can also be called a thrift store (in the United States and Canada), the hospice store , the resale shop (the US term also includes a consignment store), and odds (or op ) stores (in Australia and New Zealand).

Maps Charity shop

History

One of the earliest charity shops was founded by the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind (now called the Beacon Center for the Blind) in 1899 to sell items made by the blind to raise money for the Society. During World War I, various fundraising activities took place, such as the bazaar at Shepherd Market, London, which made  £ 50,000 for the Red Cross.

However, during the Second World War, charity shops became widespread. Edinburgh University Settlement opened the 'Used Goods Shop for Everyone' at Nicholson Place, Edinburgh in 1937, the Red Cross opened the first charity shop at 17 Old Bond Street, London in 1941. During the war, more than two hundred "permanent" the Red Cross gift shop and about 150 Red Cross shops whilst opened. The condition of store licenses issued by the Council of Commerce is that all items offered for sale are prizes. Purchases for resales are prohibited. All sales proceeds should be forwarded to Duke of Gloucester's Red Cross or St John Fund. Most places are lent and some owners also meet the heating and lighting costs.

The first Oxfam charity shop in Britain was founded by Cecil Jackson-Cole on Broad Street, Oxford, and began trading in December 1947 (although the store itself did not open until February 1948).

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Popularity

Charities are often popular with people who are frugal. In the United States, shopping at a charity shop has become popular enough to get the slang term: "thrifting" . Environmentalists may prefer to buy used goods because it uses less natural resources and will usually reduce environmental damage than by buying new goods, in part because goods are usually collected locally. In addition, reusing used goods is a recycling form, and thereby reducing the amount of waste to be disposed to the landfill site. People who oppose sweat shops often buy used clothing as an alternative to support clothing companies with dubious ethical practices. People who want authentic vintage clothing usually shop at thrift stores because most donated clothes are old and out of normal mode, or from recently deceased people who do not renew their clothes for long. Shopping in Used Goods Shops, or "Thrifting", has become very popular with young adults. It has become a trend in many Youtube channels to create a "Thrifting" video. Young adults who make these videos tend to shop in more thrift stores for fashion than price.

Used goods are considered quite safe. The Health Director of South Australia said that the health risks of buying used clothing are very low. This explains that washing goods purchased in hot water is just one of several ways to eliminate the risk of contracting a contagious disease.

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Sales of new goods

Some charities, such as the British Heart Foundation, also sell new items that can be branded to a charity, or have links to the cause of the charitable support. The Oxfam store, for example, sells food and fair trade crafts. Charities may receive too much or obsolete items from local nonprofit businesses; nonprofit businesses benefit by taking tax removals and cleaning unwanted items from their stores instead of throwing out the expensive ones.

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Charity store by region

United Kingdom

Oxfam has the largest charity shop in the UK with over 700 stores. Many Oxfam stores also sell books, and the organization now operates more than 70 Oxfam specialty bookstores, making them the largest used book retailer in the United Kingdom. Other Oxfam affiliates also have stores, such as Jersey, Germany, Ireland (45 stores in NI/ROI), Netherlands and Hong Kong. Other charities with strong presence on high streets in the UK include The Children's Society, YMCA, British Heart Foundation, Barnardos, Cancer Research UK, Shelter, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Age UK (formerly Age Concern and Help the Aged), Marie Curie Cancer Treatment, Norwood, Save the Children, Scope, PDSA, Naomi's Child Care Home and Sue Ryder's Care. Many local hospitals also operate charity shops to raise funds.

There are more than 9,000 charity shops in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Their locations can be found on the Charity Retail Association (CRA) website, along with information about charity retail, what stores can and can not receive, etc. CRA is a member organization for a charity that runs a store. The British charity shop is mainly managed by unpaid volunteers, with paid shop managers. The items for sale mostly come from donations - 87% according to official estimates. Donations should be taken directly to the charity shop during opening hours, since items left on the street can be stolen or damaged by passersby or bad weather. In expensive areas, donations include a proportion of good quality designer clothing and charity shops in these areas sought for cheap price fashions. The 'Standard' charity sells a mixture of clothing, books, toys, videos, DVDs, music (such as CDs, tapes and vinyl) and bric-a-brac (like cutlery and ornaments). Some stores specialize in certain areas, such as vintage clothing, furniture, electrical items, or recordings.

Almost all charities sell their unsold textiles (ie, non-fashionable, stained or broken fabrics) to textile processing. Every charity store stores an average of 40 tons of textiles each year, by selling them in a store, or pass them on to these textile merchants for recycling or reuse. Grosses this to about 363,000 tonnes at all charity shops in the UK; based on the 2010 TPA tax rate of Ã, Â £ 48 per ton, the value of textiles being reused or forwarded for recycling by the charity shop in terms of savings in the TPA tax is Ã, Â £ 17,424,000 p.a. Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive for individual donors in which, subject to the signed declaration held by a charity, the income tax paid on donations can be reclaimed by the charity. Although originally intended solely for cash donations, the current scheme (since 2006) allows taxes on income earned by charities that act as agents for donors to reclaim.

Charity stores in the UK earn 80% of mandatory grant for their on-site business tariff, funded by the central government (not by local tax inspectors) and is one illustration of their support for the charitable sector and the role of charity shops in fundraising for charities. Charities can apply for free relief with a remaining 20%, which is sometimes a source of criticism from retailers who have to pay in full.

Australia

In Australia, major national chain store opportunities include St. The Vincent de Paul Thrift Store (operating as Vinnies) operates 627 stores across Australia, the Anglicare Shops, which currently operate at 19 locations in Sydney and Illawarra as well as various locations in Australia, the Salvation Army (the trade as Salvos), the Red Cross, MS Australia, and the Brotherhood of St. Laurence. Many local charitable organizations, both religious and secular, run opportunity shops. The common ones are missions and animal shelters.

United States

In the United States, national charity carrier goods operators include Goodwill Industry, Village Worth/Savers, Salvation Army, Grocery Stores Vincent de Paul, and ReStore (operated by Habitat for Humanity). Regional operators include Deseret Industries in the Western United States, and run by the Bethesda Lutheran Community in the Upper Midwest. Many local charitable organizations, both religious and secular, operate thrift stores. The common ones include missions, children's homes, homeless shelters, and animal shelters. In addition, some charity shops are operated by churches as a fundraiser that supports missionary activities and work.

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See also

• Consignment
• Car Boot Sales
• Flea market
• The give-away store
• Unsteady sales
• Surplus stores
• Continuous outfit

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References

src: www.salvationarmy.org.uk

External links

• The Charitable Retail Association (UK)

Source of the article : Wikipedia