This week Cllr Andrew Girvin demonstrated his support for charity shops in the Lisburn and Castlereagh areas by attending an event at Stormont.
Commenting the Castlereagh East councillor said:
“At the More Than A Shop organised event I learned about the huge contribution that charity shops make to Northern Ireland in five key areas. Every year the charity retail sector raises around £10.5m for good causes in Northern Ireland including; tackling poverty; funding world leading medical research; and running local hospices. Recycling is also assisted by the sector. In 2015 Northern Ireland charity shops diverted over 21,000 tonnes of textile from landfill, saving local authorities very significant sums in landfill tax. Additionally, the charity shop sector provides volunteering opportunities for over 5,400 people in Northern Ireland every year, helping young people gain vital employability skills and older people to combat social isolation.
“Furthermore, charity shops help attract visitors to the high street even during tough times like the recent economic downturn. 80 per cent of charity shops in Northern Ireland report a positive or good relationship with local businesses and commercial retailers. Finally, charity shops in Northern Ireland provide good quality products to local people at a price which represents excellent value for money.
“More Than A Shop, a coalition of local charity organisations, also gave a demonstration of the Charity Retail Association’s innovative new “Social Value Toolkit”. Until now charity shops have never had a way to measure the positive impact they leave on their local economy, environment and society. The Toolkit allows them to quantify this impact, in areas such recycling, volunteering and attracting footfall to the high street.
“I am delighted to support the More Than A Shop campaign because I know that charity shops are much more than simply places to raise money for good causes. They provide a huge pool of volunteering opportunities, bring footfall to the high street, and reuse or recycle thousands of tonnes of materials which would otherwise find their way into landfill. I hope local charity shops in my ward will use the new Social Value Toolkit to measure their own contribution to the economy and wider society.”
“The Charity Retail Association represents charity shops through the UK and Ireland, but I was advised that they chose to conduct their first launch event for the Social Value Toolkit at the Northern Ireland Assembly due to huge interest in this issue from local people. Earlier this year, in two months alone, a petition set up by the multi-charity #MoreThanAShop campaign, calling for the protection of charitable rate relief, attracted an astounding 18,500 signatures from shoppers across Northern Ireland. It is clear that people in Northern Ireland value their charity shops and it is important that public representatives at all levels do all they can to help this important sector.”