Phil recently spoke to David White, Chief Executive at local charity, Willow about their appeal and ‘My Special Memory’ campaign.
Former Arsenal goalkeeper, Bob Wilson, and his wife Megs, have called on the people of Hertfordshire to help their Special Days charity achieve its target of 10,000 donated bags of pre loved items following the recent launch of Willow Charity shops in Welwyn Garden City, Barnet, Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead.
“Now that Willow has a High Street presence the Charity has experienced an increase in Special Day applications from seriously ill young adults living in Hertfordshire and we want to make every one of them a reality,” said Bob Wilson, Willow Life-President. “This autumn, our Charity Shops are leading the fundraising campaign of raising £100,000 through retail sales by Christmas. To reach this goal we need the local community, who has always been so supportive of Special Days, to continue to shop in our stores as well as donate their pre loved items to Willow. Every bag really will make a difference.”
“We’ve estimated that we need 250 bags of donations per Charity Shop every week to achieve our goal,” continues Bob who, with Megs, is visiting all four Willow shops to launch the campaign. “When visiting our shops donors and customers will also have the opportunity to take part in a new in-store initiative. The ‘My Special Memory’ notice board is a feature wall highlighting the impact of Willow’s Special Days. It also encourages shoppers to leave their own memories and messages of support. We hope that by sharing their own special experiences our supporters will build a greater affinity with our beneficiaries and Special Days.”
The Wilson’s founded the Herts based charity in 1999 in memory of their daughter, Anna, who died of cancer aged 31. Fifteen years on Willow is now the UK’s leading Special Days charity supporting more than 1,000 seriously ill young adults every year. In 2016 Willow aims to double its impact in Hertfordshire by increasing fundraising activities throughout its growing network of Charity Shops and reaching out to more seriously ill young adults with the offer of Special Days. For more information on how to apply please go to www.willowfoundation.org.uk
How can you get involved?
1. Donate pre loved clothes, accessories or bric a brac to Willow Charity Shops (large donations can be collected)
2. Volunteer to help in store
3. Make a donation
For more information go to www.willowfoundation.org.uk/shop or contact info@willowfoundation.org.uk
Willow shops can be found at:
• Welwyn Garden City Willow Charity Shop: 13 Wigmores South, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 6PL
• Barnet Willow Charity Shop: 109 High Street, Barnet, EN5 5UZ
• Stevenage Willow Charity Shop: 17 The Hyde, Stevenage, SG2 9SD
• Hemel Hempstead Willow Charity Shop: 222 Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1BJ
