New charity shop in Higham Ferrers opens for business

Residents in Higham Ferrers will be able to support a county charity by browsing, buying and donating to a new High Street outlet.

Age UK Northamptonshire’s newest shop is in the former premises of Colemans and is now open to customers and donors Monday to Sunday, 9am to 4pm.

The charity plans a grand opening later in the month, but Yvette Prior Age UK Northamptonshire’s retail development manager and her team have been working flat out since the beginning of December to get the shop ready for trading.

She said: “It was lovely to see a queue when we opened for the first time at 9am. The first person through the door was also our very first customer. She’d been sent by a relative to buy a travel case, which had only been put in the window the day before.”

The charity’s seven other Northamptonshire shops have weathered the pandemic and are now as busy as ever. A total of 15 percent of Age UK Northamptonshire’s income is raised by its shops and every penny is crucial to enabling the charity to support older people in the county.

Assistant shop manager Chrissy Nash said: “We are thrilled to be in Higham Ferrers. Local traders have been so helpful and supportive. We hope that residents will enjoy visiting the shop and that it will be an asset to the town.”

As well as providing local people with unexpected finds and plenty of bargains, charity shops encourage people to ‘shop local’, helping to keep thousands of pounds in the local economy and boosting footfall in nearby shops.

Yvette added: “Whether you’re in your seventies or your twenties, volunteering for a morning or an afternoon on a regular basis is a great use of your spare time. Some volunteers appreciate meeting people and having somewhere to be every week, others are looking to gain work experience. All our volunteers tell us how much they enjoy helping and feeling useful.”

To donate items for sale or to volunteer at the Higham Ferrers shop on a regular basis, please call 01604 611200 or visit www.ageuknorthants.org.uk.