Showing posts with label fundraising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fundraising. Show all posts

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Poorly rottie

Absolutely fantastic, but exhausting, flat clearance, which we finally completed at 10pm today. I just hope I am as mentally alert at 90 as the gentleman who previously owned it, as he obviously kept up his varied interests right up to the point where he went into hospital with his final illness. His collection of books and DVDs will keep both the Cambridge shops well-stocked for several months at least.

Much less welcome was a series of increasingly frantic phone calls from the owner of a rottie bitch registered at our clinic and suddenly very ill with vomiting and diarrhoea containing blood. He lives about half an hour's drive from Cambridge and doesn't have a car or any money. The lack of money was fairly moot given that no taxi firm is likely to be happy to transport a large vomiting dog. Getting a vet out to him on a Sunday would have been astronomically expensive, and probably not a solution as the dog was ill enough to need inpatient treatment which would be even more astronomically expensive done privately.

Finally organised the Pet Taxi to drive the dog to our emergency care provider on the promise that the owner will pay us back by installments. 

I do wish potential pet owners with no funds would consider the charms of the Jack Russell! At least they are portable and the majority have cast iron stomachs capable of digesting the most horrible things.

So, enormous gratitude to the family whose generosity gave us so much stock to raise the funds we so badly need today.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Whew!

All day at the shop today and a house-clearance tomorrow. Really nice people and I'm hopeful that, in combination with another generous donation of end-of line stock from Tesco, this will set the shop up for another month.

We're reaching a state in which takings are at a peak that's limited by our ability to get donated items out on the shop floor for customers to buy. It's noticeable that, although we're very busy, it tends to be the more inexpensive items that sell quickly and I think people are still being very careful about spending money. The only dearer things that seem to go are stuff that might be classed as "basics": dinner and tea services and other items that are going to be for use, not just for show.

The Saturday morning volunteers worked like Trojans and got lots of items priced and put out, but by five o'clock gaps were starting to show again. We could use at least two more volunteers to help out on Saturday afternoons; if you might be interested, please do drop in to have a chat. Making money to fund our clinic and other welfare work depends on having a continuous stream of goods going out onto the shop floor and that means we need a team of people continuously sorting, cleaning and pricing, then filling up the gaps as they appear.


How's this for Xtreme footware?

We looked them up and they are  around £200 new, and these are hardly used (it would be difficult to use them!), so we've put a price tag of £50 on them. If there's no interest in the shop then we'll eBay them.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Can anyone help?

We have the chance to do a house clearance in early February, with anything saleable to be given to our charity shops. However, to do a proper job—and make it worthwhile for the generous donor—we need a good number of volunteers and several cars (or a van) to remove the house contents.

Can anyone with use of a large car help us for a day? Date and time to be arranged.

If you might be able to help with this, please email camshop@rspcabookshop.co.uk or phone 01223 212 644

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Webshop newsletter

Every Purchase Counts logo
Tell a Friend
Spent a little more than you should have in December?

Cut
Costs in 2010

After the financial excesses of Christmas make amends
and figure out how to streamline your budget.

Have you tried shopping around for a better energy deal?


If you
haven't you can compare energy suppliers by using Switch and Give. It only
takes about 10 minutes to submit your details and find a
deal. If you choose an online tariff and use the same
supplier for both gas and electricity, you’ll generally find
the best offer.

Buy TV, broadband and phone as a package and save a bundle

With Sky Digital you can customise your bundle
so you only pay for the channels and broadband you want, you can also
get free off-peak calls. BT Vision allows you to watch digital TV
on demand. If you add BT Vision to your package before
January 15th and you will receive a FREE BT Vision+ box.

Cut costs further with a Freeview box which allows
you to watch a number of free TV stations. Asda is offering a standard
Freeview box for £22; you can also get boxes which
automatically record your favourite shows so you can watch them anytime.

Find the right mobile phone deal for you


There are lots of great deals on mobile phones,
with T-Mobile

you can get 300 minutes, with unlimited texts for just £15pm,
it’s a 24 month deal and you’ll get a FREE
Samsung Tocco Lite S5320
and FREE iPod
touch
(8GB).


3 Mobile’s Texter Plan
is now reduced. For £10 you’ll receive
unlimited texts and 75 anytime, any network minutes. The
contract is for 18 months and there are lots of FREE handsets to choose
from too.

You can't switch water
supplier but you can conserve
water

The Water Reduction Spray Magic Cartridge
is easy to use and helps to reduce the flow of water coming out of taps
by approximately 70%.

Save yourself money and reduce water wastage by fitting
a Bath Water Diverter. This device
is designed to divert your used water from the shower/bath to your rain
butt for use in your garden.

Find a competitive deal on home and motor insurance

The most popular insurance brokers in our
webshop
include Endsleigh Motor Insurance, ASDA Finance, Aviva Car and Aviva Home insurance. Women can
save by buying their policy via Sheila's Wheels.

Don't forget every purchase
you make via this newsletter or via our
webshop
will generate a donation for RSPCA Cambridge & District Branch
please try to use our webshop when you shop online.


Visit www.buy.at/RSPCA.Cambridge for more
great offers from over 150 top retailers
.


Your M and SnextPlay.com hmv.com
Travelcare


Purchases

made through
www.buy.at/RSPCA.Cambridge
are made according to
the information and terms provided by the company making the sale to
you. Further details on using the buy.at shop are provided on the site.


Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Win a (large) cuddly dog toy



Mill Road Winter Fair takes place this Saturday - 5th December. We're running a grand "name the dog competition" — winner's prize is this cheerful-looking chap.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Volunteer drivers needed for our shops

We're looking for someone (or several someones) with a car who would be prepared to put in about an hour a week moving stock between 188 Mill Road and 61 Burleigh street. We need to do this because it's often more convenient for supporters to drop off their donations at Mill road and we then sort them there and transfer just the saleable clothes and ornaments.

We're also looking for volunteer drivers who would be prepared to help with house-clearances. This often produces some very good quality stock for the shops (among a lot that can only be sold for recycling) and is very popular because people wanting houses cleared are happy to see the contents going to support a charity rather than being thrown in a skip.

House clearances are done on an occasional basis and usually involve one or more drivers and some helpers working for about half a day.

We reimburse petrol costs.

If you might be interested in this, please email camshop@rspcabookshop.co.uk or phone 01223 212 644

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Shop for Christmas online and support us

As well as our charity shops we have a webshop: basically this is an web page which acts as a starting point which links to sales pages of merchants who will pay us a small amount of commission for all purchases which began from a link on our page. You can see the link collection at http://buy.at/RSPCA.Cambridge

When new customers subscribe to Sky+ HD via the webshop RSPCA Cambridge & District Branch will receive £120! If you are thinking of joining Sky please do so via our webshop so we can receive this huge donation.



Christmas with Sky

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Donate, Don't Dump

Would anyone out there be interested in organising a "D-Day" event at their place of work? The basic idea is fairly simple:
On a designated day, a business will host a donations drive. Staff will be encouraged to bring in to work one good quality item they no longer want or need, which will be given to a waiting charity representative. These goods can then be sold through charity shops to raise money for charities. In the current economic climate, some shops have found they are running out of stock as people are more likely to buy than to give; this is an easy and fun way of getting more donations into stores, where they can be sold for maximum profit.

Why should people only bring in one thing?
There are three reasons why this is a good idea:
  • It is easier for someone to carry only one piece of clothing, record or book into work than to carry a bag full. This means people are more likely to do it.
  • People can choose the one best thing to give away. Donations are often of better quality if they are picked out in this way.
  • A lot of people bringing in one good quality item means a lot of donations. Of course, people can bring in more donations if they want to!
The Association of Charity Shops website has lots more information about organising a Donation Day at work.

In fact, textile items which aren't quite good enough to sell in the shops can still make quite a bit of money for us if we sell them for recycling, so don't let the emphasis on high quality donations put you off. Also don't be discouraged if some donations look rather old-fashioned—this is a feature, not a bug, as 50s, 60s and 70s clothes are popular at the moment.

If you're interested in running a Donation Day at work, please email emporium61@rspca-cambridge.org.uk or camshop@rspcabookshop.co.uk

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Do you have any clothes from the 60s, 70s or 80s (or earlier) that no longer fit?

Clothes and accessories that were new then are very fashionable again, and are a valuable source of funds for our work. We can also sell related items such as packets of nylons, dress-making patterns, sewing sets, cookery books and leaflets that might not immediately occur to you as useful donations to a charity shop.

Ornaments, pictures, crockery etc. etc. will also sell well, and the reproduction pictures that were popular in the 60s are fashionable too.

If you would like to drop off donations by car at the 61 Burleigh st shop, please phone ahead (01223 312 802) for directions to the unloading area behind us on Paradise street and to make sure someone is available to open the back door.

61 Burleigh St., Cambridge is open Tuesday-Sunday (closed Mondays), 188 Mill road, Cambridge Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday) and 156 High Street, Newmarket Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday).

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Thank-You!

To the Friends of Histon Recreation Ground who collected £43.18 for us at their dog show. Much appreciated.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Bookshop at 188 Mill Road

This is a bit of an experiment. The bookshop is now taking "want" requests for books, so if you're looking for a favourite out of print author (or simply a cheaper 2nd hand copy of an expensive text), fill in the details to let us know and we'll keep an eye out for it as new donated stock comes in.

The permanent location for the form will be at www.rspcabookshop.co.uk/wantlist.html

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Branch photo mugs now available



£5 per mug. Available from our shop at 61 Burleigh Street now and shortly at 156 High Street, Newmarket and 188 Mill Road, Cambridge. These are a trial fundraiser and if they sell we'll have more printed with different photos of animals rescued by the branch

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Volunteers wanted for Jumble Sales

Now that the Cambridge shops are fully up and running we are looking for volunteers to help us run a monthly jumble sale for items that are saleable but not good enough to go out in the shops. These will probably be held at Mill Road Baptist church, which is just a short way from our shop at 188 Mill road so there will be no need to use a vehicle to move the sales items.
We need:
  • Someone willing to act as co-ordinator and deal with putting out posters, booking the hall, making sure enough people are available to staff the sales stalls and generally make sure that the burden of organisation doesn't fall on the busy shop staff.
  • Strong people willing to carry stuff from 188 to the hall.
  • Strong-minded people to staff the tables (jumble sales are vicious events!)

If you might be able to help, please email camshop@rspcabookshop.co.uk

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Fantastic Saturday for E61




Andrew and his team of volunteers have worked like trojans this week and Saturday was their best result yet. We can now be confident that the branch investment in E61 is going to pay off in terms of providing a reliable regular income stream to fund our animal welfare work.

As we took on the lease towards the end of one of the three monthly rent periods, a full three month's rent falls due at the end of one month's trading, so money will be tight until October, because we don't want to draw on the Co-Op bond fixed-term investment and lose interest. After that, provided we can keep building on this wonderful start, we will have enough secure income to fund our animal clinic and boarding of rescued animals.

THANK YOU to everyone who worked so hard to make this possible, particularly to Andrew, Fiona, Wayne, Sharon and Ed. (and to all Claire's children who cheerfully gave up their Sunday morning to help move tons of "stuff" out of the basement at 188).

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

1st Saturday at Emporium 61


Emporium 61 on its first Saturday's trading. It will look more "RSPCA-like" once we've got planning permission for the permanent sign to replace the rather weedy temporary one and finished the displays inside.

Until we've recruited more volunteers and a deputy manager, opening times will be:

Monday: closed
Tuesday: 10.30 — 5.30
Wednesday: 11.30 — 6.30
Thursday: 10.30 — 5.30
Friday: 10.30 — 5.30
Saturday: 10.30 — 5.30
Sunday: 12 — 4.00

Andrew and his team have now got the back room into shape and would be delighted to receive incoming donations. If you need to drop off something by car, please phone the shop on 01223 312 802 and they will arrange for you to unload at the back of the shop (from Paradise street). Good bric-à-brac, ornaments etc. are all very welcome as well as clothes.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Rejoicing over shop slightly premature


As we weren't allowed to transfer the initial rent payment at the same time as paying the rent deposit and paying for the fixtures & fittings, I'd rather hoped we would be able to pay the landlord by cheque, which is a straightforward process that can be done by post.

Sadly, like everything involved in the never-ending Burleigh Street Shop saga, that would be too easy, so Kit and Janine will be turning up in person to initiate the payment at the branch of Cambs. Building Society which opens on Sundays.

With any luck this will be the absolutely final step before we can get the keys and we will be able to make a start on cleaning and decorating next week.

The banner above is Andrew's absolutely inspired design for the shop frontage. Note that the phone number is only a dummy as we've not got a line installed yet.

If you are interested in volunteering to help with setting up the shop, please ask Andrew or Ffiona at 188 Mill Road. If you would like to drop off donated goods by car there is vehicle access and a parking space at the back of the shop from Paradise street, but for the moment, please still take donations intended for 61 Burleigh street to 188 Mill road as we'd like to do a thorough clean before moving in any stock.


View Larger Map

Monday, July 27, 2009

Harry Potter Books at 188 Mill Road



Heffers books generously donated a stock of Harry Potter books to us when they closed their old shop in the Grafton Centre. If you've seen the film and now want to buy the book, why not support us at the same time? If you don't live in Cambridge, you can also buy online.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Stall at "Summer in the City" Big Weekend

Sat 11 Jul Sun 12 Jul 2009 12 pm - 6pm

Parkers Piece, Cambridge (map)

We'll be having a second-hand book stall on Parkers Piece as part of Cambridge's "Big Weekend"
Please look out for us. Lots of bargains! We also need volunteer helpers. Email camshop@rspcabookshop.co.uk if you might be able to help for a few hours. We particularly need drivers to ferry books from our shop to Parkers Piece and strong people to help with setting up and clearing the stall.