Thursday, 26 May 2011

Good house keeping helps Bristol charity to clean up...

St. Peter’s Hospice has raised a ‘tidy’ sum thanks to a spring clean by members of staff at Mercedes-Benz of Bristol...

Employees from the Cribbs Causeway retailer filled 50 bags with unwanted items from their homes, which will be sold through the charity’s 47 shops around the city. It is expected that the clothes, CDs, books and bric-a-brac will generate around £2,000 for Bristol’s only adult hospice which cares for and supports local people with terminal illnesses.

Sian Rees, Business Manager for St Peter’s Hospice said: “During 2010, we cared for 2,000 patients and supported over 6,000 family members, including children free of charge. The cost of this service is over £6 million a year and we can only do this work because of the support of the community and businesses like Mercedes-Benz of Bristol.

“All of the stock sold in our chain of charity shops has been given to us rather than thrown away and last year we raised an amazing £1.9 million from these donations,” added Sian. “By clearing out their wardrobes and giving us their old and unwanted items, the team at Mercedes-Benz of Bristol has generated £2,000-worth of stock and, in turn, are helping local patients and their families so a huge thank you to them for their continued support.”

Having raised almost £3,500 last year from a previous bag collection and various other events, Mercedes-Benz of Bristol staff are now planning their next fund-raising activity for St Peter’s Hospice.

“It’s surprising just how much money can be raised by such a simple exercise that merely makes good use of unwanted items that people no longer have a use or need for,” said Mike Smith, General Sales Manager. “However our next fund-raiser may not be so easy as my colleagues are now considering entering sponsored teams in the Bristol Half Marathon and St Peter’s Hospice Midnight Walk later this summer.”