Imperial Charity appeals for furniture donations as supplies dwindle

The Imperial Charity furniture shop on Warminster Road in Westbury has seen a dramatic 50% decrease in the amount of donations they have received over the past few months. The charity’s business manager is now asking local people to donate any good quality furniture to help sustain the charity and the organisations it supports.

Proceeds from Imperial Charity support local charities, people with special needs, and care homes in the local area. The charity organises entertainment to come into care homes to entertain guests, holds a variety of different coach trips for local senior citizens and those with special needs, and also provides support for special needs schools

Bob Summerfield, the business manager at the charity says that a lack of good quality donated items means the charity has less funds to support these local causes. Imperial Charity has two shops in the town – the High Street charity shop which sells a range of goods and a furniture shop on Warminster Road which specialises in white goods, furniture, and electrics.

“We’ve seen a distinct drop in donations to our furniture shop over the past few months,” explained Bob. “We collect two days a week and we used to have about 14 jobs a day, but now we’re lucky if we even get seven.

“Perhaps the rising cost of everything means that no-one is buying new furniture, which means there is less available for us via donation. I completely understand that people are struggling as times are really tough, but if you have any good quality furniture or white goods that you have no need for now, please consider us as we could give it a new lease of life and help others in the community at the same time.

“The most important thing we request is that the items are in good nick as we often get things that aren’t up to scratch, and we would really struggle to sell them. We have often driven quite far out of our way to pick up items that turn out to be in a worse state that previously described, which wastes time, money and fuel. This has been getting considerably worse in the short term.

“Also, with the rising cost of living we imagined that we might see more customers trying to look for a bargain, but we’ve actually seen a drop-off in footfall in the town, which is impacting us heavily. We’re also seeing a rise in our overheads with fuel and electricity, but our income is dropping.”

Bob says that the lack of donations and sales is impacting the charity’s ability to support community groups and other charities.

Bob said, “One of the special needs schools we support came to us for a grant to support their activities and we’ve unfortunately had to reduce the amount they asked for, as we just aren’t in a position at the moment to offer that support, which is such a shame.”

Imperial Charity is on the look-out for good quality furniture, ranging from dining rooms suites with tables and chairs, beds with clean and tidy mattresses, wardrobes, as well as three-piece suites and sofas.

You can arrange a collection of items by calling 01373 826826. The Imperial Charity shop on Warminster Road (the furniture shop) and the High Street shop are both open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 4.30pm.