People from the West Midlands struggle to know what to donate to charity shops

With the popularity of charity shopping growing in the West Midlands, new research by British Heart Foundation (BHF) Shops has revealed that almost half (43 percent) of people from the West Midlands are unsure about what to donate to charity shops and that almost a quarter (24 percent) actually worry about donating their goods.

To buck this trend and to help raise awareness of how vital every donation is to the nation’s heart charity, BHF Shops in the West Midlands are launching the ‘We love the things you bring’ stock appeal this May. Staff will be giving out quirky badges and post-cards to customers, reinforcing the importance of their donation in the fight against heart disease. BHF Shops are keen to receive saleable donations of clothing, handbags, shoes, books, DVDs, CDs and bric-a-brac.

BHF Furniture & Electrical Stores will also be making customers lives easier with their free collection service bhf.org.uk/free. The Stores are keen to receive any good quality, unwanted furniture or electrical items including sofas, dining sets, beds, TVs, kettles, toasters and coffee makers.

The new research also found that over half (53 percent) of people from the West Midlands are now shopping in charity shops more often, compared to a few years ago. Most people (53 percent) said this was because charity shops have great quality items at good prices and four in ten people (39 percent) said they fit their current budget.

Retail Director for the BHF, Mike Lucas, says: “After identifying that more people are shopping in charity shops but not necessarily feeling confident about donating, we want to send out a strong message that BHF Shops love the things you bring. We’re keen to receive all saleable donations to help us continue our life-saving work.

“BHF Shops raised over £31 million in the fight against heart disease last year which simply wouldn’t have been possible without donations from the West Midlands community. Just 22 dresses can fund a BHF heart nurse for the day, so I’d like to encourage everyone to continue donating to their local BHF Shop.”

For more information on BHF Shops visit bhf.org.uk/shops or call 0844 412 5000.

All figures taken from Online Market Researchers OnePoll. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2^nd April and 4^th April 2012. Total sample size was 2,000 people aged 16+.