Brownhills St Giles Hospice shop will be offering customers ten per cent off to celebrate 10 years in the town on Thursday 13 September as it marks a decade of raising money to support the charity’s important work in the local community.

The High Street shop opened in 2008 and has been funding St Giles, which cares for people with a potentially incurable illness and their families, ever since. Among the staff marking the milestone will be two volunteers who have been with the shop since the start.

Manager Steven Wallbank said: “It’s great to be marking ten years in Brownhills and we’d really like to thank all the shoppers, donors and volunteers who’ve supported us through the years – we wouldn’t be here without them.

“The two volunteers that have been with us since opening are Pat Pressey who works on the till,  is superb with customers and Anne Porter sorts out our book donations – we get up to two thousand a week and without her we’d be lost!”

Steven said that Brownhills had seen a lot of changes over the last decade, but the generosity of donors and shoppers had made a real difference. He said “When we started Brownhills still had a weekly market and although retailers have had a hard time over the years we are lucky to be supported by so many generous people. They have been unbelievable.

“One person gave us an Epiphone electric guitar which fetched £400 on our website from a buyer in Sweden, and we get bags full of new clothes that still have the tags on.

“Our shoppers are all incredibly loyal. We have people who come in and buy something every day, so it keeps us on our toes – making sure we’re always refreshing the stock.”

Steven said that the shop’s success was down to the popularity of St Giles. “It’s a truly local charity which touches the hearts of lots of people,” he added. “My mum was supported by and later died at St Giles and that’s true of a lot of people in the area – everyone knows someone who’s thankful for the kindness of the hospice staff.

“People donate to St Giles because they recognise they are helping out a good local cause, and people volunteer for St Giles because they know it’s a friendly atmosphere where they can really make a difference.”

Lynwen Truesdale, St Giles Head of Retail, said that every sale made at the Brownhills shop helped the charity to meet the £9m it needed to raise each year to fund the services it offers to patients, carers and families throughout the region.

She said: “We’re delighted to mark 10 years in Brownhills by offering this celebratory discount to our loyal regular shoppers, as well as hopefully welcoming new customers into the store. It gives us such an important link between St Giles and the local community which we serve.”

Lynwen added that St Giles could not do the work it does without the support of all of the people who gave their free time to the charity and help out at its shops. 

“We’d be delighted to hear from anybody who would like to help out at our St Giles Hospice shops in the future,” she said. “Volunteering offers people a great way to discover new skills, gain work experience and learn how to interact effectively with customers. It’s also a wonderful way to meet people, make new friends and make a real difference in the local community.”

Anyone interested in volunteering in a St Giles Hospice shop can contact shopsinfo@stgileshospiceshops.org.uk for further details.