Message from our Operations Director, Liz.
We are delighted that now as the lockdown restrictions reduce, that we are able to start resuming some of our services.
Retail
Our Tilbury shop is already re-open part time, extending to 4 days per week from the 24th May. Being open from 9.30 to 4.30 Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, plus Saturday’s 10-2. The hope is, that with the continued opening up of the economy to open fully from Tuesday to Saturday, enabling our staff to eventually use Monday’s to process the stock and get it ready for each coming week.
Sadly, the Trustee’s made the difficult decision to close our Leigh on Sea shop – this was because we were in lockdown and had come to the end of the lease. Anyone who visited the shop on Elm Road in Leigh, knows how the shop was an awkward shape and would have been difficult to stock and accommodate social distancing safely. The stock from the shop was relocated to our other premises in Elmsleigh Drive and has been sold online, via Tilbury and via appointment.
Our premises in Elmsleigh Drive have been undergoing a transformation, partially due to some financial help from the Fowler Smith and Jones Trust, which now means we have heating, consulting and waiting rooms, new kitchen (thanks to Carlton Kitchens) and floor in the Kitchen and office upstairs (thanks to Eastwood Flooring). Here, not only have we stored some of the stock from Leigh but we also house our ‘pop up’ Wedding, Prom & Party Dress shop, with a range of over 100 wedding dresses, 200 Party/Prom (all ranging from size 8-28), 100 Vanessa Horne smart dresses and men’s suits and accessories. The dresses are simply amazing and range from £10 upwards. To arrange an appointment to view and try on dresses contact us via email or leave a message with the team.
Going forward we will be expanding our retail, by creating a Kickstart Job (Government scheme to help those on Universal Credit get real paid work experience), where our presence on places like Vinted, Depop and other online outlets like Facebook Marketplace will be further expanded. We will be sharing the vacancy when approved by the DWP.
We are also considering future retail and any suggestions or premises, including introductions to landlords, would be very gratefully received – we appreciate retail is in difficult times and not every empty shop is available!
Where we need help with retail is still with people and your donations
- Retail donations – we urgently need – Bric a Brac, homewares, small electricals (yes we take these!), kitchen items, small furniture, handbags and accessories, shoes, childrens toys and clothing wise we will currently accept Mens clothing and childrens clothing. Please can you hang on to your women’s clothing for a bit as we have limited space and this is something we currently have quite a bit still to work through
- Volunteers – WE ARE DESPERATE FOR A REGULAR DRIVER/COLLECTIONS PERSON. We need someone physically fit who can use their own car (most insurers will cover you for free if you ask – we will need proof), to collect from local donors the above items and take to our premises at Elmsleigh Drive and also take from our Elmsleigh Drive premises to Tilbury on a regular basis.
- Other Volunteers – With all these items we are looking for volunteers in other areas, please contact us to discuss what you would like to help with
- Knitters! – do you knit? We are looking at a special project and are looking for competent knitters to help us, please get in touch
Services
During the worst of the pandemic we have supported hundreds of women with their concerns over their Breasts. Our nurses have been working remotely to do this and develop the Breast Awareness Program, so that more Breast Cancer can be detected early.
Our face to face service will resume in June and priority will be given to those who have registered on the waiting list. We are working through that now and very shortly will release the appointments to be booked online via our online booking portal and reception via telephone.
I need to remind you that Breast Awareness is about learning what is normal for you and our Nurses are there to help you do this. They will be going through how you are checking, what to look for, what is your normal and what to do if you find something. If face to face, our nurses will still touch you (if you prefer) when helping you but this is not a Breast Check where they fully examine you, as it is not possible just by feeling to guarantee you are cancer free.
You don’t have to wait as our Breast Awareness appointments are available via the very popular video call or by telephone and to book, simply click the book appointment link at the top of the page or call the team on 01702 343288. This service is now well established and will continue indefinitely.
Have a concern? Like pain or something not quite right? Not sure if you should bother your GP or too scared to talk to them at this stage? We are able to offer short notice appointments via video or telephone with one of our nurses, book online or call the team. Remember if the nurse is concerned, currently she will ask you to contact your GP but can support you with this.
All our appointments are still free of charge. We do ask as we do not receive government funding or money from the NHS that you support us with a donation if you can.
Mammograms. We are very sorry we have not been able to update you before, but we are working hard on a solution and hope to be able to update you very soon. There are lots of considerations in this service, patient safety and cost being only two the major factors. If you would like receive an email update on this service when we have news, please fill in our contact form.
I hope that this brings you more up to date. The Trustee’s and team have all worked very hard to provide a continued service, whilst ensuring the Charity has financial stability for the future. We are delighted that our Nurses and Retail are returning to a more normal service and will bring you more news when we have it (hopefully very soon!).
Thank you for supporting us!
Liz – Operations Director
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