13 July 2005

St Giles Hospice's specialist bookshop in Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield, has marked its first successful year of service to local shoppers.

The charity shop, located at 284a Lichfield Road, opened its doors to the public for the first time last July – and in its first 12 months has proved popular with shoppers from across the area and beyond.

And, to mark the special occasion, shop volunteers cut a celebratory birthday cake which was then shared among fellow volunteers and staff.

Lynwen Truesdale, General Manager of St Giles Hospice Shops, said: "Our bookshop has proved a phenomenal success in its first year, and we're extremely grateful to everyone who has either purchased or donated items to sell.

' The shop stocks a wide choice of high-quality second-hand books including fiction, children’s titles, leisure, literature, travel, the arts, reference, and antiquarian volumes – there really is something to appeal to every taste.'

In addition, a selection of videos, CDs, DVDs, pictures, clocks, cameras, and a range of new goods including stationery, gifts and greetings cards is also available.


The bookshop is one of thirteen stores across the region - including four others in Sutton Coldfield – which raise funds to support St Giles Hospice’s work caring for local people living with cancer and other serious illnesses.

The bookshop is open Monday to Saturday from 9.15am to 4.30pm, and further information is available by calling staff on 0121 308 0006.

St Giles Hospice Shops play a vital role in funding the care offered by the hospice, a registered charity based in Whittington, near Lichfield.

The thirteen shops are based in major towns throughout the hospice's patient catchment area, which ranges from Ashby de la Zouch and Atherstone in the east, to Cannock and Walsall in the west – and from Burton and Uttoxeter in the north, to Sutton Coldfield and Coleshill in the south.

In addition, a clothing warehouse for donations and a furniture warehouse offering a wide range of high-quality furniture at value-for-money prices, are based in Shenstone, near Lichfield. A selection of furniture is also available at the Cannock and Wylde Green shops.

Donations of high-quality clothing and items for the home are always welcome at the shops and warehouses.

Last year the hospice shops raised a total of £607,000 - and every penny is desperately needed by St Giles. The charity spends over £5million caring for local people with cancer and other serious illnesses, as well as providing support for their families and carers, and relies heavily on the support of local people to enable its valuable work to continue.