The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Plea for people to continue making donations to for-sale shop.
MONTROSE: Shop manager urges people to keep donating, stressing nothing is wasted
The manager of an Angus charity shop has urged people to continue making donations, despite for sale signs hanging over the door.
The number of people donating to Oxfam in Montrose has fallen since the global poverty charity announced its intention to close the shop earlier this year.
Manager Lynda Stuart, who leads a team of 10 volunteers, said the quantity of donations had dropped markedly since the Orange Lane shop was put on the market in March.
She said: “The position is that we are carrying on until the shop is sold.
“It’s business as normal until someone takes an interest in buying the shop and donations are very much welcomed.
“We get a lot of phone calls asking if we are still accepting donations because they’ve seen the signs up – the answer is, yes. People should not hesitate to donate, just bring it in.”
Lynda, who has managed Oxfam shops in Angus for 18 years, described the drop in donations as an “unfortunate “ consequence” of Oxfam’s decision to close its last shop in the county.
She also reassured people that donations would not be thrown away, even if a buyer was found for the shop.
“I can totally understand the drop in donations,” she said.
“I can see why people think we’re not taking items any more because we are trying to empty the shop, but we are continuing trade and raise money.
“If the shop is sold then nothing donated to us will be wasted – it would go to other shops.
“We already give some of our stock to Oxfam shops in Broughty Ferry and Lochee in Dundee.”
Speculation has surrounded the Oxfam shop in Montrose since last year, when the charity stating its future was “under review”.
In January, Tom Richardson, Oxfam’s operations manager for Scotland and the North of England, said the decision to sell had been made with a “heavy heart”.
He said: “We truly regret the shop in Montrose is closing. It marks the end of an era in the town.
“Oxfam is constantly evaluating the profitability of all our shops to ensure we’re efficient and making the most money for Oxfam’s vital work.
“Sometimes this process results in us having to close a shop if it isn’t found to be viable, but these decisions are always made with a heavy heart and are never taken lightly.”
The charity’s Arbroath and Forfar shops have also both closed in the past decade. rmclaren@thecourier.co.uk
We get a lot of phone calls asking if we are still accepting donations because they’ve seen the signs up – the answer is, yes. People should not hesitate to donate, just bring it in. LYNDA STUART, OXFAM