A massive three-storey charity shop in Lincoln is set to be opened by the Lord Lieutenant this weekend.
The RSPCA store and welfare hub, in Steep Hill, will have its ribbon by Toby Dennis
The store is run by the Lincolnshire Mid, North East & Lincoln branch.
Libby Price, the branch administrator said: “It’s a very exciting project and we’re looking forward to the launch, as you can imagine we’ve been so busy making it all happen but it’ll be worth it.”
The shop will also include a new welfare hub for the charity.
Emily Knapp, the shop and hub manager, said: “The store is not just a shop; it’s more than that. It’s a branch hub as well. It will be a home for our community to share information and raise awareness about animals, we aim to host community fundraising events and partnership initiatives.”
Plans for the new store began earlier this year, Emily said.
She added: “It’s been stressful, but it’s been a lot of fun. When we started the process back in January, this building was just an empty shell, so we’ve had to work from nothing and come a long way to get to where we are now.”
Shoppers can expect to find a wide range of items there, including “new goods that have been supplied by local independent businesses as well as high-quality clothing, accessories and homeware. You can find a bit of everything really.”
The official date the store will open its doors is Saturday March 22, and the Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire Toby Dennis will cut the ribbon. “We will also have cakes, brownies, goodie bags and some vouchers as well for all visitors”, said Emily.
This will now bring the number of RSPCA charity stores in Lincoln to three, Emily said: “We wanted to expand, we’re not closing our other shops in Lincoln but we wanted to get our name out there even further and raise even more funds for the branch.”
In Lincolnshire, 1061 incidents of animal neglect were reported from January to September last year which is a 22% increase from the same period the year before – placing it in the top ten highest counties in England.
By opening this new charity shop, the RSPCA hopes that a good amount of funds will be gathered to help tackle this crisis and improve overall awareness in the county.
Emily said: “Our short-term goal is to support as many animals in our care as possible, at the minute, we have seven dogs and 21 cats in our care. Our long-term goal is to become a staple in the Lincoln community, I want people to think of us when they think of Lincoln.”
The shop will be open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 9.30am until 5pm.
