Scope to reopen its Haywards Heath shop from Monday

The disability equality charity has potentially lost £35,000 from its Haywards Heath Store closure, based on the previous year’s figures.

Gemma Buick, area manager of Scope charity shop in Haywards Heath, said: “It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to welcome our wonderful community through our doors and we’re all looking forward to seeing our customers once more.

“We’ve put stringent safety procedures in place to ensure the safety of our customers and colleagues.

“I am sure this will seem rather strange for many people to begin with and I hope customers will bear with us during this period.

“You can still find fabulous bargains and hidden treasure in our shop.

“If people wish to donate, they can either bring it along to our shop in South Road and put it in the purple wheelie bin outside.

“If you have a large donation, you can call the shop first to arrange an appropriate time to drop it off.

“If anyone has a few hours to spare and would like to consider volunteering, we’ll ensure you have PPE and are well supported.

“Please do drop in or call the shop for a chat.

“We’re a very friendly team and as long as you have a comfortable pair of shoes, you’ll thoroughly enjoy volunteering with Scope and will be helping to support disabled people.”

Scope is introducing social distancing, intensive shop cleaning, hand washing and imposing a 72-hour quarantine for all donations.

All shops will have sneeze screens in place at the till for added reassurance.

For the initial period, shops will be inviting one customer in at a time.

All customers will be expected to use the hand sanitiser before browsing and one-way systems will be in place where necessary, along with two-metre distancing markers on floors.

As many people have had more time at home for a declutter, Scope is hoping to turn the public’s donation bags into money for services that support disabled people and their families. Each bag of donations is worth, on average, £20 to Scope.

Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive of Scope, said: “The lockdown has had a huge impact on our income at a time when disabled people need our services the most.

“It’s vital that we get our shops back serving their communities. Our ability to run services that support disabled people and their families relies on income from our charity shops.

“We hope that shoppers will return but we recognise that we have a responsibility to keep them safe. Our priority is to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers and customers, which is why we are phasing the opening of all shops to ensure every safety measure is in place beforehand.

“This is a challenging time for many charities, but with the help of the public we are determined to be here for disabled people in the long-term.”