Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation’s 12 shops will reopen to the public on Tuesday June 9. The nine shops in Mayo and three in Roscommon have remained closed since March 12th due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Strict safety protocols will be adhered to in all of the shops, to ensure the safety of the public and our staff and volunteers. They will include limiting the number of customers in the shops at any one time, social distancing while in the stores, the use of hand sanitiser by everyone entering and a 72 hour quarantine period for donations received after reopening.
To ensure maximum safety people are being asked to clearly label their donations for resale or recycling, to minimise the amount of sorting of items that has to be carried out. They are also being advised to date their donations by labelling their refuse sacks and/or boxes with the date they are being dropped off at their chosen shop.
All 12 shops also accept items for recycling but people are being asked to clearly mark items for recycling and to place clothes for recycling in one bag, shoes, bag and belts in another and towels and old bedding into their own bag.
The public are also being asked not to leave their donations outside of the shops after opening hours. Donations will be accepted at each of the shops while they are open.
People are also being reminded that electrical items are not accepted. Strict safety measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of everyone using Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation Shops. All donations are steamed on receipt of them into the shops and always have been. Donations will also be left untouched for 72 hours after receiving them. Changing facilities will not be in available in any of our shops for the moment.
CEO of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation Martina Jennings said: ‘We are looking forward to reopening our shops and welcoming back our very loyal customers and supporters. We know people have been doing clear-outs during the restrictions and have been in touch with us to see when our shops would be reopening, so we will be delighted to accept those donations from June 9th. We want to assure people that every precaution is being taken and all protocols are being followed to ensure the safety of our customers, staff and volunteers.’
Ms Jennings continued: ‘Our shops are the backbone of enabling us to provide palliative care services in the community. We have continued to fund and provide palliative care services during the COVID-19 crisis and we have also commenced construction on our Roscommon Hospice and our shops are pivotal to helping fund all of that and is it vital they continue to thrive.’
For more information on the reopening of the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Shops you can log onto www.hospice.ie or call 094-93-88666.
