Charity launches to provide access to clothing for those in need

A new charity, Clothe Me – Thank You, has launched with the aim of bridging the gap between clothing stock in charity shops and people struggling to afford to clothe themselves and their families. Clothe Me – Thank You provides a monetary value voucher redeemable in partner charity stores, enabling people to choose their own clothes without having to rely on hand-outs. Money is raised through donations, which can be made either as a one-off or regular amount, and online retail partnerships and then converted into vouchers. These vouchers are offered to people in crisis through a network of food banks and charities and also aim to help increase footfall to partner charity shops on the high street. When they are spent, the charity shop receives the cash value of the voucher from Clothe Me – Thank You. Clothe Me – Thank You also partners with a number of online shopping portals, enabling shoppers with Amazon and John Lewis among other retailers to make their regular purchases with theses retailers, with a portion being donated to the charity. Clothe Me – Thank You initially launched with partner charity shop Geranium across its 12 shops around Greater London and funding support from Richmond Parish Lands Charity (RPLC). Partnerships have since grown including Royal Trinity Hospice in Fulham and Richmond charity branches of Vineyard Community, Fara and Fara Kids. Antony Wroe, Founder of Clothe Me – Thank You, said: “It’s noticeable in our communities how individuals and their families are increasingly struggling to afford the basic needs of housing, food and clothing. Whilst food banks provide support, there isn’t an obvious choice for people that can’t afford clothing. We believe that people should be able to choose their own clothes rather than having to take what limited choices may be available to them. The Clothe Me – Thank You model enables this, and at the same time our charity shop partners benefit from the extra money spent in their stores.”    

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/2xOvOiK