Community bands together to save local hospice shop

Dove Hospice Panmure was on the verge of closing down due to financial difficulty, but the growing support of the community has kept the store alive.

After the store’s lease expired, staff calculated the costs of keeping it open but found it would either need to be shut down or be moved to somewhere less accessible to shoppers.

But the outcry of the community triggered staff to revaluate everything possible to keep the store open, says commercial manager Ruchika Mukherjee.

“What was really heartening for us was how much the community wanted us there, it’s not just a hospice shop to them, it’s a community shop,” she says.

Many of the stores frequent visitors say they cannot afford to shop at the next closest hospice in Meadowbank and didn’t know what they would do without the affordable prices in Panmure.

“Lovely news to know it’s staying open as the Meadowbank one is so expensive…I know it’s a good cause but what is the use of having a second-hand shop if you can buy it brand new for the same price,” says Dee Court a member of the Meadowbank community.

Dove Hospice is a charity store mostly run by volunteers with all proceeds going to families of patients with life threatening illnesses.

Store manager Carmella Kamutoi says they still need more members of the community to volunteer in the store so that it can afford to stay open.

“Volunteers are the heart and soul of the stores, we still need them to help us stay open, all we can do is advertise every where possible,” she says.

The store is celebrating its win with a BBQ on Saturday.