‘Vile’ poison pen letter to charity shop sends sales soaring worldwide
TILLS are ringing at a charity’s shop after a poison pen letter sparked a wave of support from around the world.
The nasty note, penned by an anonymous resident, said the Kreate homeware shop, which gives vital opportunities to adults with learning difficulties, was “not welcome” and was doomed to fail.
But the spiteful author had no idea their poorly spelled letter would have the completely opposite effect.
Favour
When manager Ruth Denton shared the “vile” message on Facebook, hundreds of well-wishers voiced their support for the recently opened store in Sheffield. Now, Ruth, 37, says people from as far away as the USA are making plans to visit.
She said: “The response we had was unbelievable. Someone from America actually said they were coming over and they would like to visit. It would be amazing if they did. It was kind of reassuring really, because you know what you are doing is right and people don’t think that about you.
“It’s just helped support the charity no end. It’s really put us on the map, so it’s great.
“Whether they like us or not, they’ve done us a massive favour.”
The letter, written in pencil on a lined A4 sheet of paper, said: “To the owner, just a note from neighbourhood watch not to welcome you. We try not to encourage charity shops round the area or shops selling Blackpool style trinkets.
“A lot of businesses needed by comunitys [sic] have failed and I hope yours does too. Another grey painted trendy Tak.”
It added: “Soon be countdown for you. Shutters will be permantley [sic] down.” But after Ruth shared the contents, one person responded: “I’m really pleased they did write this letter as I didn’t know you were there.
“Now I do I’m looking forward to visiting and supporting your amazing charity.”
Another said: “I’ll be round next week to put some money in your till. Really hope this negative does so well for you.”
And one local wrote: “I am only just a couple of mins up the road and I didn’t know you were there. I’ll be down next week.”
Experience
Ruth said: “The letter was really upsetting. We are here for a purpose.
“The idea of the shop is that the students gain retail experience by working in here.
“Anything we make in the shop does go back into our charity.
“Obviously, the person who wrote it has never been to the shop and has not read up about the charity or knows anything about us.”