Shoppers in Ryde will have a new stop on their Christmas shopping trips this year with the opening of a new Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd charity shop at 153 High Street.

Shop manager Clare Anderson and her team of volunteers welcomed a crowd of customers eager to pick up a few Christmas bargains.

“There was a real sense of anticipation about the opening from the shop team and local shoppers,” said Clare, who has previously worked for the charity Arthritic Research Campaign (ARC) and is relishing her chance to get back to a career in charity retailing.

“To give us a kick start we’ve had lots of fantastic stock sourced from other Salvation Army Trading Company shops but we’re now looking to encourage local residents to think of us when they’re looking to donate their clothes, toys, household items and toys.”

After being welcomed through the door on opening day, customers were also invited to take part in an innovative scheme to encourage them to recycle their unwanted clothing with the aid of a re-useable bag. Shoppers who invest in a striking red, black and white re:bag at a cost of just 99p may bring it back to the shop full of clothing or household goods to be rewarded with a £2 voucher to spend in the shop. Anyone donating clothes in this way can use the bag as often as they want and there is no limit as to how many times they can benefit from the offer.

All profits from the new shop will be used to support the many and varied social welfare activities of The Salvation Army in communities across the UK. Homeless shelters, substance misuse centres and family tracing services are just some of the services The Salvation Army delivers.

For more information on Salvation Army Trading Company charity shops and the re:bag scheme, visit www.wear2shop.co.uk.

Clare and the team look forward to welcoming more customers and volunteers to the new store. “We hope that this fantastic start continues and local people will continue to support us by shopping, donating and thinking about whether they’d like to become part of our team of volunteers” said Clare.

If you are interested in volunteering at the Ryde shop, visit the shop and speak to Clare or e-mail  volunteer@satradingco.org

The Salvation Army is an international Christian church and registered charity working in 118 countries and is one of the largest, most diverse providers of social welfare in the world.  In the UK, next to the Government, it is one of the largest providers of social, community and welfare services, all delivered without any form of discrimination. Many Salvation Army churches also run independent charity shops, which directly fund local programmes but which are not linked to SATCoL.  For more information on The Salvation Army visit: www.salvationarmy.org.uk.