Animal welfare charity shop to launch this week
The shop will begin by taking in donations, with the aim to start trading next month
A NEW charity shop raising funds for animal welfare in Shetland will open its doors to welcome donations and potential volunteers this week.
Shetland Vets founder Jim Nicolson will cut the ribbon at the new Shetland Animal Welfare charity shop in the Toll Clock Shopping Centre in Lerwick on Thursday afternoon at 3.30pm.
Tea and homebakes will be served to celebrate the culmination of many months of planning and hard work to open the shop before the summer ends.
Organisers said the shop was born out of frustration with the Scottish SPCA after it unilaterally pulled its inspectors out of all three Scottish island groups.
The directors of Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary (HWS) decided to set up a trading arm to raise funds to help fill the vacuum the national animal welfare charity has left behind in our island communities.
HWS director Pete Bevington said: “When an islander finds an animal in distress they are told to phone the local vets or our sanctuary. But we are not resourced to provide the service that the SSPCA has national responsibility for.
“So the islands are going to have to find ways to provide these resources ourselves.”
As an example, Bevington highlighted the need for a new sanctuary to support the islands’ world renowned birdlife.
“We also have small mammals – hedgehogs and the like – who need help from us humans when they get into trouble,” he said.
The new shop will occupy the premises formerly run by Geordie’s DIY and the Shetland Artisan Shop.
Due to its relatively small size, donations will be restricted to clothes, bric-a-brac, books and other similar items.
“Hopefully we will be able to expand in the future, but we’re starting out small,” Bevington said.
The shop will be run by volunteers and managed by Derek Hart, who led Shetland’s hugely successful MRI scanner appeal and spent 12 months working for COPE in Lerwick as their business manager.
“I’m very excited about this project,” Hart said.
“And I have a deep personal connection with it because Jan [Bevington], who started Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary back in the 1980s and is sorely missed, was my cousin.”
Anyone wanting to bring donations, offer to volunteer or just show their support is invited along to the celebration on Thursday, which will run from 3.30pm until 5pm, or when the shopping centre closes its doors.
Anyone who cannot make the event and would still like to donate or get involved can contact derek.hart@hillswickwildlifesanctuary.org or call 07783 297814.
The organisers intend to open the shop for trading next month.
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