“Hospice Makes Supporter Jump for Joy”

“Hospice Makes Supporter Jump for Joy”

Media Release: 25 October 2012

Hospice has seen unprecedented support for its nationwide 2012 “Give It Up for Hospice” campaign despite New Zealand feeling the pinch economically. The campaign had two stages, initially encouraging people to donate pre-loved spring and summer clothing to their local Hospice shop. Postie stores came onboard this year as an alternative collection point, providing a 20 percent discount voucher on any of their new season items as an incentive for people to donate clothing.

Dyan Cann, Manager of Give It Up for Hospice says the Hospices involved were thrilled with the volume and quality of the clothing donated.

“This campaign seemed to resonate with people. What better reason to clear out their wardrobe knowing it was going to such a good cause?”

The second phase was about encouraging people to come in and buy the recently donated gems. Cann says many shops talked about the campaign attracting new clientele.

“Not only did Hospice shop staff report an increase in traffic through their stores, they also commented on new faces coming to browse and buy.”

Cann says the campaign allowed new customers the opportunity to see not only the wide range of goods on offer but also the quality of the items.

“Many people have to really budget, and this is where the Hospice shops can provide a real value-for-money shopping experience, while assisting Hospice at the same time - we call it ‘guilt-free shopping’.”

Customers know their purchases really do make a difference to the lives of people that Hospice cares for and as an added incentive, anyone who purchased a fashion item was able to enter the Give It Up competition for a $5,000 Trelise Cooper wardrobe. This was won by Rita Knowles-Smith who shopped at the Wanganui East Hospice Shop.

Rita was absolutely delighted with her win “When I walked in [to the Wanganui East Shop] I noticed the display and a lot of the clothes there appealed to me... I shop at all the Hospice shops in Wanganui and also used to volunteer for Hospice in Auckland, so this is such a nice surprise for me. It will be exciting going into the [Trelise] boutique to shop – I’ve never been to shops like that before.”

About Hospice Shops: Hospice Shops are retail outlets that financially support the work of their local hospice through the sale of clothing and bric-a-brac donated from within the community. All Hospice Shops are staffed by volunteers.

About Hospice: Hospice offers free palliative care and support to anyone in our community living with a terminal illness. The hospice aim is to optimize the quality of life for their patients and their families. While the service is partially funded by the government, millions of dollars needs to be raised each year to cover the funding shortfall and Hospice shops contribute up to 50 per cent of this each year
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