Woodlands Respite Care Centre (From York Press)

Woodlands Respite Care Centre

10:49am Thursday 27th August 2009 in

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HAVING scooped the Best Business and Education Link accolade in last year’s Press Business Awards, Woodlands Respite Care Centre is pitching for something completely different this year.

The York-based centre, which provides short term respite care places for people affected by multiple sclerosis, was also a finalist in the Progress Through People category in 2008.

But this time Rachel Chamberlain, the centre’s fundraising and volunteer co-ordinator, is thrusting the charity’s two shops – in Melrosegate and Bishopthorpe Road, York – into the limelight.

She hopes the two stores, manned by volunteers six days a week, will win both the Retailer Of The Year and Think Green Business Of The Year titles.

Woodlands’ Melrosegate shop opened in 1996 to sell donated goods such as clothes, bric-a-brac, shoes, handbags, records and cassettes and by 2005 expanded next door, doubling its space.

Within a year sales had increased by 22.6 per cent, giving Woodlands management the confidence to open a second shop Bishopthorpe Road in 2007.

By the end of last year the Melrosegate shop generated a profit of more than £33,000 while the Bishopthope Road shop earned nearly £9,600 in profit.

That meant a total contribution towards the running costs of the centre of about £42,600 – a hefty contribution towards the £200,000 Woodlands needs to raise locally to meet its budgets.

The principle is simple: The public clear out their cupboards, drawers and attics and bring their unwanted goods to the shops. Volunteers sort out the good quality items and the 70 per cent unsuitable for sale are recycled, with extra revenue gained fromn recycling textiles.

Once items have been displayed for three weeks without selling, they are also recycled so that the display is being constantly refreshed for customers.

Each year staff members from Woodlands carry out an audit on the shops, their policies and procedures.

Mrs Chamberlain said: “In addition, each shop has a stock of compliments and complaints cards and customers are encouraged to fill these in – another way in which we can obtain their valuable feedback.”