ONE of St Austell’s most popular charity shops has moved to the town’s White River Place.
The Cornwall Hospice Care shop, which has been in the town’s main street for 11 years, offers a wide range of preloved clothing, bric-a-brac, books and games. It has now relocated to the site of the former GAME store to provide more space and ground floor working for the staff and volunteers.
The shop was packed with people within a minute of opening at 10am on Saturday (March 5). The first customer, who happened to be a volunteer from the charity’s Holmbush shop, marked the start of trading with the purchase of a donated decorated jug for £5.
Tracey Preston is the Shop Manager and said: “It’s taken a lot of work by many people to get the shop ready and everyone’s been fantastic - I thank them all. We’re tired but the store is already jam packed so it’s been worth it.”
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“Our St Austell store is one of our busiest and we’re delighted to have moved into White River Place,” says Frazer Hopkins, who heads up the charity’s retail team. “It’s a lovely ground floor store with plenty of space to showcase the donated items we offer. We’re looking forward to being a part of the community in this area of the town and we’re excited to already be welcoming existing and new customers.
“The shop carries the name of Mount Edgcumbe Hospice to strengthen the local links between the care we provide at the nearby hospice and the local customers who fund it.”
The store was officially opened on Saturday, St Piran’s Day, by Healthcare Assistant Mandy Pearce from Mount Edgcumbe Hospice and Jane Stubberfield, who is a Trustee of Cornwall Hospice Care. Also supporting the opening was Gina Starnes, the charity’s Director of Clinical Services, and volunteers Faith Geake and Margaret Bawden from the Cornwall Hospice Care St Austell Fundraising Group.