CHARITY
Moving Generosity
Last summer St Peter & St James Hospice relocated their distribution centre from North Chailey to a new location in Hurstpierpoint as Robert Veitch recently discovered
T
he previous distribution centre was located at the hospice in North Chailey but became too small to cope with the volume of donations being received. The move to new premises in Hurstpierpoint has provided much needed space and better accessibility for donations to be made and processed. As Emily Cronin, the Head of Trading at St Peter & St James Hospice pointed out, “We’ve gone from 1,000 square feet of space to 12,000 square feet.” Walking around the premises it’s clear to see the increased space is well used and that there is plenty of room to run an efficient operation. It’s a treasure trove that includes almost any item you might care to think of; from cutlery to furniture to a George Best football annual, or from an immaculate suit to modern art worth
thousands of pounds. Moving to the new site enabled the hospice retail team to re-evaluate how donations are processed. The charity has since taken the commendable approach to circularise their economy, meaning that nothing goes to waste.
Every donation that comes to us is utilised in some way
Charity retail helps recycle pre-loved items and also helps reduce landfill waste. According to the website – charityretail.org.uk – during 2018 - 2019, across the UK, 339,000 tonnes of textiles were kept out of landfill as a direct result of charity retail. However, it’s not only textiles that are recycled at the distribution centre as Emily told me. “Our new distribution centre is structured so that every donation that comes to us is utilised in some way. We are trying to create as little waste as possible. Every donation whether it be clothing, homeware, furniture or electricals is sorted and sold in our retail outlets, re-used or re-purposed.” Currently the hospice has eight shops spread across five locations: in Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath,
January 2022 | SUSSEX LIVING 119
Jan22 St Peters & St James.indd 119
16/12/2021 10:07
