SUPPORTERS of Oxfam Books and Music in Leamington have raised more than £1.2 million for charity since it opened its doors a decade ago.
To celebrate customers, donors and volunteers, past and present, are invited to join an anniversary party and enjoy a slice of cake at the Regent Street shop on Saturday May 2 during opening times from 9.15am to 5.1 pm.
The staggering figure is the accumulated total sales of ten years’ worth of donated books, CDs, DVDs, and vinyl, which the Leamington shop sells for the national charity.
The £1.2 million could potentially pay for safe water for 1.2 million people – equivalent to 24 times the population of Leamington – or provide more than 200,000 people with health checks, train more than 44,000 teachers, or buy more than 120,000 chickens or 48,000 sheep to help poor families make a living.
Shop Manager Jen Thornton said: “It’s amazing we’ve made so much money for Oxfam thanks to people’s generosity. It’s a community venture because locals give us donations, volunteer in the shop and choose to buy from us too. It’s incredible what we’ve achieved together.”
During the shop’s decade of trading it has helped finance emergency support for Indian Ocean tsunami survivors in 2005, food aid for drought-stricken East Africa in 2006, help for flood victims in South Asia in 2007, safe water for people fleeing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008, aid for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in 2009, support for Haiti earthquake survivors in 2010, help for Syrian refugees in 2011, food for West Africa in 2012, support for victims of the Philippines typhoon in 2013 and most recently help to stop the spread of Ebola in Africa in 2014.
The shop is currently fund-raising for Oxfam’s Strength to Survive appeal, which aims to help communities prepare for and survive disasters. For every pound raised for this appeal before May 4 the UK Government will give another pound to fund Oxfam’s work with families facing disaster in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
