A PATIENT of Wigan and Leigh Hospice will open the charity’s new shop in Standish on Wednesday, September 19th.
Derek Southern, 84, from Leigh will cut the ribbon at 10am to open the new shop which has taken over the former Lloyds Bank building on Market Street.
Derek was referred to the Hospice In Your Home service in July. Since then he has had regular home visits from the specialist nurses and is visited weekly by Stephen, who volunteers for the Hospice In Your Home companionship service.
Diana, Derek’s wife, said: “Derek used to be into amateur dramatics so he is used to getting up in front of people. When I asked him if he’d like to open the shop he was very matter-of-fact about it but he’s having his hair cut for the occasion!
“The Hospice In Your Home companionship service is smashing, and Derek really looks forward to Stephen coming. It means I have space too; not to do anything exciting but to just take a breath.”
The new shop is the first of the hospice’s shops to offer Gift Aid on donated goods meaning that the hospice will be able to claim Gift Aid of an extra 25p in every £1 spent on donated items. Gift Aid will be rolled out to the hospice’s other 12 shops over time.
It is also the first Wigan and Leigh Hospice shop to have a community space where people are welcome to browse events listed on a community board and chat to volunteers and customers about what is going on in the local area. Local business will also be able to promote their shops and events for a small donation.
Anna Hart, Hospice Retail Manager, said: “It has been a long road to get to where we are to transform a bank into a shop but it is looking fantastic. It is much bigger than our previous shop and it’s the first shop to trial Gift Aid. We’re really excited about Gift Aid because we will be able to claim 25p in every £1 for each item sold and it won’t cost our customers anything.
“The hospice needs to raise £9,700 every day so that we can continue delivering all of our services so we are hopeful that the introduction of Gift Aid will help us to meet that challenge.”
The hospice’s shop on Cross Street in Standish closed on Saturday, September 8th.