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Those charity bags! A result!

(23 Posts)
Foxygloves Mon 01-May-23 20:08:25

Delighted to get this letter from “ Mercy in Action” a charity I have supported for years informing me that in the last year my donations have raised £529 plus an additional £132 in Gift Aid.
It would never have occurred to me to give this amount in cash but I am so pleased that my trips to the shop, bearing all those carrier bags, have been so worthwhile!
Two years ago I did even better - that was over £700 and I have to admit prompted me to sell some of my best stuff on eBay blush
I like Mercy in Action not only because they are a worthwhile charity providing, among other things, midwives and obstetric care for poor and often homeless mums in the Philippines , but also because they don’t sell “any old tat” I know they get a decent price for their donations.

Mollygo Mon 01-May-23 20:11:34

Well done!

Germanshepherdsmum Mon 01-May-23 20:17:11

I have had similar feedback from bags of stuff donated to BHF with Gift Aid.

Calendargirl Mon 01-May-23 20:30:29

I’ve had them from either Age UK or Sue Ryder, can’t recall which.

Enid101 Mon 01-May-23 20:34:07

Well done Foxygloves, that’s such a lot of money.

Aldom Mon 01-May-23 20:42:06

I too receive letters from the three charity shops I support. It's very encouraging to see how much my donated goods + gift aid raises.

Gillycats Mon 01-May-23 20:42:40

Well done!

Doodledog Mon 01-May-23 20:44:48

That's brilliant!

Thirdinline Wed 03-May-23 11:26:39

I have just received an email saying my donations raised £61, plus Gift Aid on top for Break Charity. Not quite in your league OP, but I work for Break, so was happy to have contributed & will continue to do so.

Sjonlegs Wed 03-May-23 11:28:27

That's amazing. Well done you!

I love it when something I have previously loved can find a life elsewhere, and in doing so raises money for a good cause. There are absolutely no losers.

I MUST have another rummage. There's always a bag's worth if I try.

Nannapat1 Wed 03-May-23 11:36:21

We're currently having (yet another) big clear out, some stuff destined for the recycle centre but most for our favourite charity shop Barnados. I can no longer do gift aid but DH does and we have both always enjoyed the letters telling us how much we have raised. Some things that will go to charity this time are worth a bit but I'd rather give to them to raise money and for someone to enjoy, rather than try and sell them.

Usernametaken Wed 03-May-23 11:42:20

Quite a few years ago I had a clear out and donated some clothes to a charity shop, including a brown biker jacket.
Went into our town centre a couple of weeks later with my Daughter and we visited the charity shop. ( Daughter wanted a nosy). Saw a lovely jacket in brown, tried it on and bought it. Was told by Daughter, “Mother, that’s the one you got rid of weeks ago”.
Couldn’t make it up could you 😂😂😂

SachaMac Wed 03-May-23 12:17:43

BHF do that and it’s always nice to know how your old ‘stuff’ has helped. They also collect if you have a lot of items. I am wary about filling bags and leaving outside as I know they are sometimes picked up by unscrupulous people.

Cossy Wed 03-May-23 13:49:18

Well done all, I do something similar with a local homeless Charity - my goal this year so far is just under £100 including gift aid, every penny helps grin

4allweknow Wed 03-May-23 14:12:44

Cancer Research does the same with anote of how much your donations have raised.

NanaDana Wed 03-May-23 14:31:48

I do love a trawl around the Charity shops. Re-cycling at its best in many ways. Found some real bargains on occasion, and yes, DH and I regularly have a clear out and ring the changes by taking the bags to shops run by Local Hospice/Cancer Research/Sue Ryder/ Barnardos. We're on the Gift Aid Register for all of them, so we do get the occasional email update on how much our donations have made. Always good to hear.

MrsNemo Wed 03-May-23 14:34:03

We donated a three piece suite some years ago - and received an email telling us how much the furniture had sold for. Very surprised to see that it was just £50 short of what we had paid for the suite when it was new. Well done, British Heart Foundation!

SueDonim Wed 03-May-23 14:40:57

We were astonished to get a letter last year from the Chest Heart and Stroke people to say the donations resulting from our decluttering had raised over £600 in their shop.

Much better than it lying unused in my house or going to landfill. smile

AreWeThereYet Wed 03-May-23 14:45:10

...Saw a lovely jacket in brown, tried it on and bought it. Was told by Daughter, “Mother, that’s the one you got rid of weeks ago”....

Usernametaken 😂😂😂

Squiffy Wed 03-May-23 15:13:14

Usernametaken

Quite a few years ago I had a clear out and donated some clothes to a charity shop, including a brown biker jacket.
Went into our town centre a couple of weeks later with my Daughter and we visited the charity shop. ( Daughter wanted a nosy). Saw a lovely jacket in brown, tried it on and bought it. Was told by Daughter, “Mother, that’s the one you got rid of weeks ago”.
Couldn’t make it up could you 😂😂😂

Usernametaken I had a similar experience to you.

My Aunt was over from the US and stayed with us. She decided to go for a wander round the local shops and she came in with a triumphant smile on her face, proudly showing me the sandals that she’d bought at one of the charity shops. I told her that she could have cut out the middle man - I’d donated them a few days earlier 🙄😆

62dg Thu 04-May-23 08:44:19

That’s so so wonderful and a real tonic to know you had inadvertently helped with that amount of money! Congratulations x

Nannashirlz Mon 05-Feb-24 12:48:25

I don’t know what mine sold for I had loads of stuff picked up because I couldn’t be bothered to sell it myself all I got was a thank you for your large donation etc unless they still selling it mine went to the hospital it was for toys etc for the kids in hospital

Wheniwasyourage Mon 05-Feb-24 18:31:09

I think you only get a message if your donations are Gift Aided, Nannashirlz, because otherwise the charity has no way of knowing who gave what. Maybe the charity you donated to doesn’t do Gift Aid, or maybe you didn’t sign up for it. smile