Julia Lopez MP Visits Hornchurch Superstore
Charity shops provide ‘enormous support’ to the local community, says Julia Lopez, MP for Hornchurch and Upminster, during her recent visit to one of Saint Francis Hospice’s shops.
Mrs Lopez spent time chatting with Michelle Nicholls, Director of Income Generation at Saint Francis Hospice, along with volunteers at the superstore in High Street, Hornchurch, on Monday 13th October, to find out more about how the shop raises vital income to fund the hospice’s compassionate palliative and end of life care services and the benefits it brings to local people.
“I wanted to highlight the incredible work Saint Francis Hospice does in the local community to provide critical services to people at a time when they really need that support,” said Mrs. Lopez.
“Today’s visit was a focus on the shop aspect of hospices and the incredible work of volunteers in the hospice shops, the amount of money that is raised through these shops, the fact they take anything, and they also provide enormous support within the community.
“People may come in to buy something, but there is a discussion that can take place within the shop where people can combat loneliness and find sources of help. So, it is not just a shopping experience, it is much more than that.”
Saint Francis Hospice receives 31% funding from the government and relies on donations and charitable giving to raise almost £9M a year to cover the cost of its services. Mrs Lopez said she was doing everything she could to secure sustainable funding for hospices.
“This is something I have been supporting Saint Francis on for quite a long time now,” said Mrs Lopez.
“Hospices do incredible things when people are at a vulnerable time in their lives and it is important that they are helped financially, both through tax system and but also in terms of how people donate money and the support they might get through the department of health.
“I have been looking at ways in which I can support the charity. One of the biggest focuses for us this year has been on the National Insurance rise and the impact it has had. This has created a big funding gap for hospices, and I have been doing a lot of work in parliament to try and highlight those problems.”
