Hitting the High Street

The Headway charity shops provide a vital source of funds to help us support individuals affected by brain injury.

They can also sometimes provide a sense of worth and routine to the invaluable volunteers, many of whom are living with brain injury themselves.

Carol Tennet, Head of Retail at Headway, said, "We rely heavily upon the support of the public to make our shops a success. Whether you are a brain injury survivor or simply want to volunteer in your spare time, anyone is welcome to come along, say hello and find out more about Headway."

Headway’s Press Officer Katie Morris, and Social Media Officer Harriet Bettany, visited the Headway store in Hinckley, Leicestershire, to catch up with some of its volunteers and speak with shop manager, Sarah, about life raising vital funds for the charity.

How long have you been working for Headway?

I’ve been managing Headway shops for two years now. I recently moved to the Hinckley shop as this is where I’m originally from and I like the sense of community here.

What do you enjoy about working at the shop?

I absolutely love it here. It feels like Christmas every day. Whilst it can be a lot of hard work, it doesn’t feel like an effort because it’s so enjoyable.

Everyone benefits and nobody loses out – the volunteers love it, the people donating items feels like they’re helping, and the customers are happy to find some bargains!

How many volunteers do you have?

We currently have 16 volunteers here at Hinckley. Three of our volunteers are affected by brain injury and others include people with learning disability and cerebral palsy. They do a variety of different hours to suit their needs.

Sarah

How do you think working in the shop benefits your volunteers?

Some of our brain injury survivors start work feeling depressed and withdrawn and working in the shop lifts their mood. Volunteers can sometimes have problems with communication but everyone is so friendly here.

The volunteers are so grateful for the opportunity to give something back and it helps them develop a sense of routine. We’re so thankful for all their help in the shop.

Headway's Hinckley Shop volunteer, Sean

What would you say to encourage people to donate unwanted items to Headway?

I read an interesting statistic that said three quarters of people have admitted to binning their clothes. Many people don’t realise that unwanted items can be resold to raise money for charity. Anything we can’t sell in our shop is either transferred to another Headway store or recycled. There’s a use for everything.

What items are you most in need of?

Everything! But especially ladies tops and bric-a-brac.

Find your local shop

You can visit our Hinckley shop at 6 Station Road, Hinckley, LE10 1AW or click here to find your local shop.

Further information

Our shops depend 100% on stock donations from members of the public. Your surplus items are always welcome, please let your friends and family know. We accept clothing, bric-a-brac, such as ornaments and crockery, books, CDs, DVDs and toys. We also accept furniture.

Don't have one of our charity shops near you? No worries! If you sign up to Thrift you can both donate your unwanted items AND hunt for a bargain! Just receive your donation box for free, fill it with goodies and have it collected from a local DPD location. 50% of the proceeds will go to us and 25% you get back as Thrift store credit to buy yourself some treats!