Glorious Godalming celebrations at our award-winning shop
Last week, our amazing Godalming shop team welcomed Robin Osterley, Chief Executive of the Charity Retail Association, alongside Cllr Paul Rivers, Town Mayor of Godalming and Town Mayor’s Consort Penny Rivers to officially receive their hugely well-deserved award as South East winner in The UK’s Favourite Charity Shop Awards.
Our shop was a flurry of excitement, as we welcomed our guests for a morning of celebration, with Robin sharing the important role charity shops play in communities and how the awards, the first of their kind, were launched in June to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Charity Retail Association, the membership organisation for charity shops in the UK.
Following some words from Paul Farthing, our Chief Executive, Julie Bunting, Godalming Shop Manager, received the award on behalf of the team, expressing thanks to all the staff and volunteers that give their time and expertise to help make the shop the welcoming and award-winning place it is!
Cllr Paul Rivers, Town Mayor of Godalming, says “What an honour to attend the awarding of such a prestigious prize. It shows what a dedicated team Shooting Star Children Hospices is, and we give thanks to them for their work on behalf of children.”
The team, also had an evening to continue the celebrations this week for the National Charity Retail Association Awards. The ceremony welcomed the 12 regional winners to come together and find out if they were to be crowned the overall winner and we’re really happy to share that we were honoured with one of the two runner up awards!
Melanie Hill, Head of Volunteer Development and Retail said, “We were absolutely thrilled to be announced as one of two equal runners up to the UK’s Favourite Charity Shop. This is an amazing achievement richly deserved by the shop staff team Julie, Lourdes, Lisa, and their fabulous and dedicated team of volunteers. We are hugely grateful to the Godalming community who so generously support us and to everyone who voted for us in the awards.”
As the festive season approaches, our charity shops are always needing quality pre-loved items, check out our retail wish list and find your nearest Shooting Star shop to bag yourself or your loved one a bargain and support local families in your community.
