New YMCA charity shop opens its doors in the high street

The YMCA charity shop has moved premises to a unit 10 times its original size in Maidenhead.

The new shop, which is in The High Street opposite McDonald's and formerly home to Topshop, opened its doors for the first time yesterday morning.

As well as attracting a queue of people eager to see inside, the sparkling new shop front enticed two passers by to pop-in and put forward their names to volunteer before the morning was up.

The previous shop, on the High Street next to Jessops, was too small for the high volume of items they were receiving and there was lack of room for furniture.

"The former shop didn't allow us to sell as much as we wanted, so now we hope that this relocation will really help to boost sales," said assistant manager Donna Boyd.

She added: "We can now sell a lot of second-hand, good quality furniture which is great because there are few places in Maidenhead that offer this."

The new shop has taken three weeks to set up and has been divided into various sections homing the different items including retro clothing, haberdashery, games and DVDs.

The shop also offers a home collection service on Wednesdays for people with furniture they wish to donate.

There are six volunteers working at the YMCA store with a demand for more in anticipation the new shop will attract a substantial increase in customers.

YMCA shops up and down the country raise money for local communities with a focus on engaging young people and supporting local schools.

The shop will be open from 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sundays.