St Giles Hospice’s charity warehouse is celebrating its twentieth year of working with the community.

The warehouse at Birchbrook Industrial Park in Shenstone has gone from strength to strength over the two decades, keeping pace with the growth of the hospice and its increased number of shops.

Lynwen Truesdale, General Manager of St Giles Hospice Shops, said: “Our warehouse is a hub for our fourteen charity shops, supplying them with items they can sell, and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has donated clothing, books or household items over the past 20 years.

“Today St Giles operates 14 shops throughout our patient catchment area - including two dedicated book shops – all of which play a vital role helping to raise funds to care for local people living with cancer and other serious illnesses.

“With demands on St Giles’ caring services continuing to increase, every donation to our warehouse is greatly appreciated and desperately needed.”

The Shenstone warehouse is open weekday mornings 9am – 12.30pm and receives donations directly from the public and via the St Giles Hospice shops. A team of volunteers and staff sort the items, delivering them to stock each of the shops according to demand.

Products include a wide range of high-quality second-hand goods including items for the home, clothes, accessories and books, as well as a selection of new goods – including greeting cards throughout the year, and the hospice’s range of Christmas cards.

Although books are sold at each of the shops, St Giles Hospice has two specialist bookshops, at Mere Green in Sutton Coldfield and Atherstone and a furniture warehouse in Shenstone. Other shops specialise in different items, from fancy dress at Lichfield, to furniture at Wylde Green and Cannock, and a bridal room at Swadlincote.

A wide variety of items are also available online at the hospice’s Ebay shop which can be accessed via www.stgileshospice.com/shops

Donations of high-quality clothing and items for the home are always welcome, and further information is available by contacting the warehouse on 01543 483268.

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 shops are located 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.

Last year the hospice shops raised a total of £510,000 – 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.