St KENTIGERN Hospice has been able to reopen its charity shops.

The stores, which have been closed since December 2020 in line with Covid restrictions, opened on Monday.

The hospice, which is based in St Asaph, has 10 charity shops across North Wales and a distribution centre in Bodelwyddan.

Val Corner, retail operations manager, said, “We are very excited to be re-opening our stores and we’re looking forward to being able to welcome back our fabulous volunteers and the public. Our network of charity shops is a vital part of the fundraising efforts for the hospice and the money we raise helps to support the local community.

"Safety measures are in place to make sure that people can shop with us safely."

St Kentigern Hospice was first first established in 1988. The facility provides 24-hour specialist care to adults with life limiting illnesses and their families through its 12 bed In-Patient Unit.

Families across Denbighshire, East Conwy and West Flintshire can access a range of services including bereavement counselling, dementia services, symptom control and end of life care, free of charge.

In order to maintain these services, the hospice needs to raise £5,350 every day.

In February, the hospice gave a rare insight into how they were coping.

Laura Ellis-Bartlett, fundraising manager at St Kentigern Hospice, said at the time: “The staff at the hospice have been working day and night to maintain its high standards of support for patients and families. This includes providing counselling sessions via the telephone and online, access to our ‘Hear and Now’ telephone services and many more

“The hospice receives support from a variety of sources including grants and funding from the NHS. However, fundraising through our shops, café, events and donations still accounts for over 80 per cent of our income."

The distribution centre is now able to accept donations of items. This is being arranged on an appointment basis.

To book an appointment or to speak to a member of the team, telephone 01745 583170.