The team at the Emmaus Merseyside Charity Superstore have celebrated a record-breaking week after reopening its doors following the COVID-19 shutdown.
The Charity Superstore in Seaforth, one of three Emmaus Merseyside charity stores, reopened on Monday 15 June. During the first week of opening, the store achieved record sales and a large number of donations of furniture and household items.
Emmaus Merseyside temporarily suspended all retail operations 12 weeks ago to ensure the safety of its residents, staff, volunteers, customers and the local community. With new safety measures in place and supporters visiting again, Emmaus Merseyside is confident that it will recoup some of the income lost over the shutdown period.
Local supporter, Pat, was one of the first to visit the store after reopening. Pat said: “I visited to see all of the wonderful companions, staff and volunteers at Emmaus Merseyside. I love being amongst these people and get fantastic things at very cheap prices. The team are just brilliant.”
Emmaus Merseyside provides a home, meaningful work, training and support to people who have experienced homelessness or social exclusion. The majority of funds needed to support the charity’s work are generated by selling second-hand furniture, household goods, and clothing in its social enterprise.
Honora Crisp, Business Manager at Emmaus Merseyside, said: “After a big push to get ready for reopening, we are delighted with how the first week has gone. We are closely following advice from the Government and the Charity Retail Association to keep everyone safe and minimise the risk of virus transmission.
“Our amazing team worked really hard to put in place new measures and processes to ensure people can visit us again and that we can safely accept donations. Hand sanitiser points have been installed in the store, as well as markings to direct customers. We are limiting the number of customers at any one time and changed our store layout to accommodate social distancing.”
Emmaus Merseyside hopes to reopen its two other Charity Reuse Shops soon but will closely monitor the situation and follow government advice should any changes need to be made. The charity are accepting shop donations but request that all items are cleaned prior to packing in bags or boxes and then secured with tape and labelled where possible.
You can find our more about Emmaus Merseyside charity stores and the new safety measures or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EmmausMerseyside for regular updates.