ellenor shops re-open after 13 weeks...

We are delighted to confirm that after 13 weeks of closure four of our high street shops are open again for shopping only and are operating in-line with the latest government guidance. The shops across Kent - Crayford, Dartford Priory, Swanscombe and Bexley – are open for business and people can make purchases.

The implementation of safety measures means that shoppers can feel safe whilst they shop. ellenor recognises that many households will have used the lock down period to tidy up their households and will have many items which no longer fulfil their original purpose. We are therefore actively encouraging all our supporters to make use of the facilities that we offer and continue shopping with us. For donations, these can be made at Northfleet and Bexleyheath only to ensure we continue to keep shoppers and staff safe and provide space for you to walk around. Just as importantly we also welcome all those who want to come and search for a bargain. During this difficult time, we are aware that the shopping experience may be different from usual but there will always be the same friendly and warm welcome awaiting them.

Gary Taylor, ellenor’s Head of Retail says: “We are excited to be able to reopen some of our shops, and begin raising vital funds so we can continue to provide nursing and medical care to the people of Kent living with terminal or life limiting illnesses, and their families.

ellenor like many charities relies heavily on income from their high street and online retail operations to support their fundraising operations and the temporary closure of our 16 charity shops during the coronavirus lockdown has hugely affected the hospice’s income. Monies are desperately needed in order to allow ellenor to continue providing the high standard of care to the people it supports living with life limiting or terminal illness. We therefore urge everyone to not forget that ellenor has opened its doors again.

In line with Government and Charity Retail Association guidance, we will continue to stagger the opening of our remaining 14 shops through the rest of this year - - the status of each shop, as well as our online operations, will be updated on www.ellenor.org/our-shops

Our commitment is to keep our staff, volunteers and customers safe and help our customers shop with confidence and for this reason our 4 shops are open for shopping only and donations are ONLY accepted at Northfleet and Bexleyheath. Our Northfleet shop is open Monday – Wednesday and our Bexleyheath shop is open Thursday – Saturday for donations from the public from 10am -2pm or alternatively, we can collect large items from your home for free.

We have a range of comprehensive measures in place to keep our staff and customers comfortable and safe – the shops are fully equipped with the relevant PPE, newly fitted Perspex plastic screens for the staff and customers’ safety as well as floor markings for social distancing and safe payment methods.

We look forward to seeing all our supporters and customers and would like to remind everyone that our new trading hours are between 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday”.