Charity shop marks first year in style

In its first year of trading they have smashed their donation target for the Margaret Kerr Unit and Palliative Care fund at Borders General Hospital.

Their latest donation brings their tally to over £60,000 which has surprised no one more than the shop’s founder, Eilean Hogarth, who said: “When I started all this I thought if we could raise £15,000 for the Margaret Kerr Unit in the first year that would be very good. To think we have raised four times that amount is beyond anything I could have hoped for.”

In approached the fundraising team at the difference (the NHS Borders supporting charity) with an idea to establish a charity shop in Kelso for the benefit of the Margaret Kerr Unit and Palliative Care Fund. Having volunteered in a charity shop for the previous 15 years she knew the potential it had and despite a few obstacles, less than five months later, the Charity for Care shop opened on Bridge Street, Kelso. The venture now has over 30 volunteers keeping the shop going six days a week and they regularly receive compliments on the shop’s appearance and the quality of the stock.