During their first week of trading, volunteers welcomed lots of customers, as well as two special visitors.
Margie Cooper, the Antiques Roadshow and Antiques Road Trip expert, went along to the charity shop at Wilmslow Library on Tuesday, 29th October. She met volunteers from East Cheshire Hospice who were staffing the shop that day.
Margie Cooper said "It is so good to know that the charities get 100% of their sales. And they pay nothing to participate.... really good."
Then on Friday, 1st November, MP Esther McVey MP visited. She had just come from visiting East Cheshire Hospice, where she was told that the Christmas card shops are one of the largest sellers of their cards.
As well as looking at the many different charities cards, she spent some time looking round the shop a the selection of gifts and heard from the Pancreatic Cancer team who were staffing the shop that day.
Esther McVey said ''I am always pleased to visit this shop and support our wonderful charities as well as chat to the volunteers who work hard to raise all the money they can. It is always busy and I am delighted I bought my cards and some other bits ahead of Christmas which will be being wrapped and put under my tree. It is an amazing local initiative started by Sheila Hallas MBE and I think other areas around the country should look at what she has done and set up their own shops. Many people buy cards to send to family and friends so it is great we can do this as well as support a charity or charities."
The pop up Combined Charities Christmas Shop, stocking a wide variety of cards from over 50 charities along with selection of festive items, gift ideas and calendars, will be open at Wilmslow Library until Saturday 7th December. The opening hours are 9am to 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, Thursdays 9am to 7pm and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.
