Important shop information

The PACT shops will all be closed until at least the first week in October. This depends of course on the new spikes of Covid that are continually being threatened, and is dependent on people being sensible.

Why are we not opening before then?
Funds are very tight, and we are very careful how we spend the funds that are available.  We find that the average person goes into a charity shop to browse and if they buy something it is only after they have found something that attracts them that they then spend money.  We find that only half the customers buy, the others browse and leave, most of our shops are small and keeping to social distancing we can only accommodate three customers in the shop at the same time. To control the numbers, we would have to move the till to the door and that would mean at least two staff at all times. All items touched and tried would need to be sterilised every time or put into isolation needing more staff.

After paying rent, wages and utilities we need 25% of the takings to run the sanctuary, at present it would appear that those charity shops that are currently open are not taking more that 75%.  

We are very grateful that at  present our landlords are being very generous and only charging half rent for the next few months, while we are shut, but as soon as we open they will rightly expect a full rent. The answer to the question is it will cost too much of our dwindling funds to open.

PLEASE do not leave donations outside the shop doors.  

We cannot visit all shops every day, the bags are attacked by vandals, and the shop door becomes a fly tip. It is illegal to fly tip so PLEASE don’t do it. Either keep your goodies until we open, bring them to the sanctuary or if we can arrange a collection we will, but we are very busy collecting animals that need us and they must come first.