On Saturday 28th September It’s been a whole year since the AEDdonate charity shop opened its doors on the High Street in Stone.
The charity shop was opened to support the current public access defibrillators in the town and surrounding area with plans to place more as and when funds become available. The statistics are outstanding; with over 30,000 transactions and a staggering 50,000 items sold in store.
To date the little shop has achieved big things,including;
- Part Funded the Whitebridge Estate Defibrillator
- Replaced 14 Defibrillator Batteries
- Replaced 21 Defibrillator Pads
- Funded 37 FREE training sessions for our community
- Donated to Churnet Valley First Responders
- Donated to Rugeley First Responders
- Provides a venue for our new Charity Choir
- Monthly coffee mornings
- Doubles up as a training venue to teach Basic Life Support and the use of a Defibrillator.
In line with the first birthday celebrations the shop will be closing at 4pm on Friday 27th September so the team can make some big changes in store,changing the layout to be able to add more Bric a Brac, Books, DVD’s, CD’s and Children’s toys. There will also be a dedicated area for household linen which will enable us to increase the clothing area.
There will also be a new scheme in store in which every transaction gets a token to vote for a local community fundraising defibrillator campaign to win £100. The fund will be disbursed each month to the winning campaign.
The shop aims to support the placement of new defibrillators into the town and welcomes suggestions for possible locations of the potentially lifesaving equipment.
To celebrate their 1st birthday there will be a huge sale on Saturday 28th September and all clothing items will be reduced to £1 to make way for winter items so be sure to pop in and grab a bargain. There will also be tea and defib cabinet cake available for customers throughout the day.
Jamie Richards, Chief Executive of AEDdonate said; “I would like to pass on my thanks to all of our supporters and customers on the High Street. Our move has proved to be really successful and has enabled us to support the local community with the placement of new Public Access Defibrillators and consumables for current Defibs. It’s also great to see the shop being used for other activities during the evening as we hold free training sessions and the weekly choir from the store. It’s a true multifunctional community space and I would advise anyone to attend one of our free training sessions.”
“We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported the shop so far, from customers to volunteers. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without you. We are a small local charity with a big heart trying to make a difference in our immediate local community. Without the support from our customers we would not be able to continue. Thank you.”
