DORSET charities struggling to raise funds due to the pandemic are preparing to open their shops after 12 weeks of closure.

Following the government announcement that non-essential shops will be able to reopen from Monday, June 15, charity shops are making plans to reopen safely.

New measures will be put in place to ensure everyone's safety including restrictions on the amount of people allowed in shops at a time, hand cleansing stations and signage to ensure people know to pay by card.

Karen Pothecary, Dorset retail manager at Margaret Green Animal Rescue, said: “It’s incredibly important that shops are able to reopen. So many charities have taken huge financial hits because they haven't been able to make use of one our most reliable methods of raising funds.

"Our shops had been thriving and we were anticipating being able to grow the charity in terms of retail. We went from our shops doing very well to bringing in no income at all."

Margaret Green will first open its Kinson (Bournemouth) shop on June 16 and if it is able to comfortably operate within guidelines, other sites will then open including Weymouth.

Additional safety measures will include PPE for staff and quarantining goods for 72 hours before they are handled by staff. They will also be adopting a more flexible refund policy due to the use of changing rooms being outlawed in compliance with government guidance.

North, South and West Dorset Age UK aims to re-open its newly relocated retail premises in St Mary Street, Weymouth by the middle of June, followed by its shops in Bridport and Dorchester.

Gill Gordon, corporate services manager, said: “We rely our charity shops, they are a huge part of what we do and we're very much looking forward to getting them reopened. We may carry the Age UK name and logo, but we are still a small independent charity, with our own registration and trustees and we rely heavily on local revenue streams."

She added: “It's not as easy as throwing the doors open and saying, 'come on in'. We have to make sure we are prepared and it is safe for everybody.”

Weldmar Hospicecare will open its Dorchester Outlet first on June 15. This will be followed soon after by the outlets at Weymouth and Shaftesbury.

In total, 14 of the shops are expected to open their doors by the early July, with 12 remaining closed because they are too small to enable social distancing.

Julia's House will first open its Creekmoor (Poole) store on June 15 followed by its 11 other shops.

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