BHF shops
British Heart Foundation reopens doors after months of lockdown
We will reopen nearly 400 of our shops this week, with hundreds more to follow next week, as we seek to recover from the devastating impact of the Covid-19 crisis on our income.
We planned a phased reopening to ensure we could create a safe working environment for our staff and 17,000 volunteers, many of whom are living with heart and circulatory diseases.
But a trial of over 40 shops has been so successful that it’s accelerated our reopening plans across the country. 395 shops will open this week, with a further 299 planned next week.
As our doors reopen, we are urging the public to support us by donating good quality items, or by popping in to snap up a bargain. Every item donated or sold will aid us in our recovery from the crisis, which we predict will cut our net income in half this year.
Public support
Mike Taylor, our Commercial Director, said: “Our charity shops run purely on the support of the public, which is why we treasure every person who shops with us or supports us. Every item we sell helps fund our vital research.
“We have been truly humbled by the response from our colleagues, customers and supporters since opening a handful of shops at the beginning of the month.One store received more than 100 bags of donations before lunchtime on the day it opened - double the number we would normally expect in a day. We’re now ready to open our shops nationwide, with confidence that they’re safe and ready to raise vital funds for research into heart and circulatory diseases once more.”
“The coronavirus crisis has had a devastating impact on our income meaning we are in urgent need of public support and donations to continue our research. Each pound raised in our shops helps us to support the 7.4 million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory diseases, many of whom are at increased risk from Covid-19. Your donations can help us, help them.”
The temporary closure of our 750 shops has had a devastating impact on our income. As the UK’s biggest funder of cardiovascular research, the crisis has cost us around £10 million a month. This could limit future funding for research and delay important scientific breakthroughs.
Cut in research spending
This drop in income has coincided with a significant increase in demand for our services, with calls to our Heart Helpline increasing by 400% at the peak of the pandemic as it became clear that people with heart and circulatory diseases were at increased risk from Covid-19.
We now anticipates we may have to cut research spending by half this year - potentially affecting discoveries that could improve diagnosis, treatments and cures for people living with heart and circulatory diseases. With other leading medical research charities, we're calling on the Government to match charity-funded research for the next three to five years to ensure the pace of progress can be maintained.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive, said: “Our shops fund a huge proportion of UK cardiovascular research, so the reopening of doors is welcomed news for thousands of scientists and millions of people with heart and circulatory diseases, as well as our shoppers. This moment was difficult to imagine just a few weeks ago, and its testament to the incredible commitment of our BHF team of colleagues and volunteers that we’ll be trading in every corner of the country within two weeks.
“But the coronavirus crisis will unfortunately have a long-lasting and devastating impact on charities like ours, with our funding for new research falling by a shocking £50m this year alone. That's why, not only do we need urgent help from our loyal supporters, we’re also urging the Government to ensure funding for vital research charities. For us, it will mean we can protect the progress we have made so far and continue to transform the lives of those with heart and circulatory diseases. It’s ultimately patients who will suffer if this doesn’t happen.”
Safety precautions
Our shops and stores will have new measures in place to keep staff, volunteers and customers safe. This includes social distancing on the shop floor, protective equipment for staff and volunteers, and facilitating contact free collection and processing of donated items.
In line with Government advice and to keep customers safe, all donations given to us will now be rested for 48 hours before being placed on the shop floor. Customers will also be able to donate at new contact-free donation points set up at every BHF shop entrance.
For larger donations to BHF home stores, donors will be able to book a free collection service online from Wednesday 29th July. All pick-ups will be Covid-secure. For smaller donations, the BHF has launched a new postal donation service, making it even easier to donate without hitting the high street.
Just £16 worth of your donations can support an early career scientist in carrying out an hour’s research and £25 gives a researcher an hour’s access to equipment. If your donations raised £100, this would fund a DNA extraction kit to identify genes linked to heart and circulatory diseases.