Going vintage for a good cause at the HospiceWits Legacy Store
PARKHURST – The HospiceWits Legacy Store sells beautiful second-hand items and also provides much-needed income to HospiceWits.
The HospiceWits Legacy Store sells a variety of beautiful second-hand books, furniture, jewellery and clothing which also contributes to providing care for those with life-threatening illnesses.
The store, which has been open for about two years, is one of 13 HospiceWits stores located in Johannesburg. The stores contribute a large source of sustainable income which funds the various services HospiceWits provides.
The organisation provides physical care to those suffering from life-threatening illnesses as well as emotional, social and spiritual care. The organisation’s team is therefore not made up of only doctors but also counsellors, social workers, and psychologists.
Joy Ruwodo, the marketing and fundraising manager for HospiceWits said, “As a non-profit organisation, we know how much it costs to travel to a patient’s home or how much it costs to admit them to our in-patient facility and if the patient cannot afford to pay we will continue to provide the service.”
HospiceWits requires R36 million a year to fund their full-time members while about R12 million is raised from the charity stores.
“People don’t really know a lot about our charity stores and where they fit in. Most of our patients are indigent and can’t afford to pay towards their care and so we are constantly raising funds to ensure we don’t get to a point where we are turning away patients for financial reasons,” Ruwodo said.
She added that they were trying to shift the perceptions that buyers and donors have of charity stores.
“When we launched this store we were trying to target an audience that maybe doesn’t realise the quality you can find in charity stores,” said Ruwodo. She added that they were also trying to encourage more people to donate their used goods to charity stores. She said often people did not realise that their beautiful used goods could still be used for a good cause.
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Ruwodo added that buying from the Legacy Store could also ease one’s conscience as the purchaser knew that the money from their purchase was contributing money to the care of a HospiceWits patient.
You can contact HospiceWits on 011 483 9100 or visit their website at www.hospicewits.co.za
Tell us how you could get involved in the HospiceWits Legacy Store on WhatsApp 079 439 5345.
