Community rallies to raise £30,000 after charity shop break-in

Children’s charity Acorns has said it is “overwhelmed” by the response of its local community which rallied to raise £30,000 after a break-in at its Kings Heath shop.

Acorns set up a JustGiving page in response to the damage totalling more than £2,000.

Acorns Chief Executive Toby Porter said: “What a difference a day makes! A day that started out with such sadness and disappointment has been completely turned around thanks to the compassion and generosity of our local community. The response to the news that one of our shops had been burgled and vandalised has been truly heartwarming.

“The purpose of our 45 Acorns charity shops is to generate the funds we need to provide our vital children’s hospice care. Facing significant costs repairing our Kings Heath shop, we are thrilled and humbled to announce that hundreds of amazing supporters have made donations via our website and a special JustGiving page, and together they have donated a total of £30,000.

“It costs £7,000 to fund all of the costs of one of our children’s hospices and their family services for a day. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!”

The charity operates three specialist children’s hospices in the West Midlands. Every year it provides care to more than 800 local life-limited and life-threatened children, and support for their families.

Its charity shops are a key part of its fundraising efforts, which have been badly affected by the lockdowns which have restricted non-essential retailers. In April it was able to reverse plans to close its Walsall hospice after a two-year fundraising campaign raised £2m.

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