Storage company steps up to help Hope House hospice's Christmas appeal
A much-loved Shropshire-based charity struggling to store the toys, games and books donated by a generous public has been helped out by one of the UK’s leading self-storage companies.
Hope House/Tŷ Gobaith, which cares for children with life-threatening conditions from across Shropshire, the border and North Wales, has once more had a fantastic response to its appeal for stock for its network of charity shops.
The only downside has been what to do with all the donations - but Denbigh-based Lock Stock Self Storage has come to the rescue with space at its storage parks which extend across the region, including at Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Newtown, in Powys.
Area fundraiser Vanessa Marubbi said: “People are especially generous at this time of year and we have been incredibly well-supported but we were running short of where to put it all.
“A lot of charities won’t take certain items but we want to respect the generosity of our supporters and so we were very grateful when Lock Stock came to the rescue.
“We put a call out on social media and Lock Stock, who have supported us for many years, were once again quick to respond.
“They cover a very similar area to us and they have storage parks right across North Wales and the border counties, so it has been a perfect fit and it means we can continue to accept the donations we receive.
“We have just had an incredibly successful Final Moments Appeal which hit £100,000 in its first four hours and in total raised over £620,000 but the other side of our fundraising is retail from our shops and this is where Lock Stock have again helped us out.
“At this time of year we appeal for pre-loved and unwanted Christmas gifts which we will sell from our 15 charity shops across the region and we have again had a fantastic response.
“We get lots of toys and games and lots of Christmas decorations and lights, and it's much better for them to go to stock our shops than go into landfill.
“There are certain times of the year when we are in danger of being overwhelmed by the generosity of our donors and we never want to tell people we can’t take any more so Lock Stock have been brilliant for us when we need them most.”
Lock Stock area manager Rob Jones said: “Hope House/Tŷ Gobaith is a great charity and supporting them is also important for us – many of us are parents ourselves.
“As a company Lock Stock likes to support the areas in which it operates and as a business we’re always delighted to get behind the wonderful work that is being carried out by Hope House/Ty Gobaith right across North Wales and the borders.”
Lock Stock, founded in Denbigh in 1999, is the UK’s largest containerised storage company with almost 4,500 units providing over four million cubic feet of space at storage parks across North and Mid Wales, the border counties and Merseyside.
Their existing sites stretch from Holyhead and along the North Wales coast at Porthmadog, Caernarfon, Bangor, Llandudno, Abergele and Rhyl, on the Dee at Flint, Saltney and Deeside and inland at Denbigh, Mold, Buckley, Wrexham and Newtown in Powys, and in England at Oswestry and Shrewsbury in Shropshire and now in Huyton in Liverpool.
The company estimate that 60 per cent of their containers are rented by people moving house or keeping treasured possessions but up to 40 per cent, almost 2,000 of their containers are used by small businesses for storing equipment and materials.
Rob Jones added: “Businesses, especially small businesses use our sites because they have storage needs and with three different sizes of units they’re ideal whether people are looking to grow or to downsize.
“We respond to demand and where it is coming from and if it is from an area where we need more capacity then we look at opening somewhere new or extending our existing premises.”
