One of the UK’s biggest charity retailers - PDSA - has unveiled its annual list of amazing charity store donations. Sometimes amazing, sometimes hilarious, the new list highlights that charity stores can be treasure troves for those seeking something out of the ordinary as well as bargain hunters.
Pet charity PDSA, which runs 180 stores nationwide to help fund veterinary care for poorly pets, receives a huge variety of second-hand donations, and among the usual clothing, books, DVDs and furniture, there are items ranging from the highly valuable to the downright weird and wacky.
PDSA’s Top Ten Hidden Treasures (and the stores that received them):
1. 100 brand new wedding dresses worth a combined £50,000 (Boscombe)
2. Roll of turf (Spennymoor)
3. Antique ‘Steiff’ teddy bear worth £650 (Teignmouth)
4. A selection of x-rated adult items (various*)
5. Two packets of ten-year-old spaghetti (Aldershot)
6. Kitchen sink (Neath)
7. A used 2007calendar (Basildon)
8. Urn with ashes (Rutherglen)
9. A collection of gas masks (Barkingside)
10. False teeth (Mutley Plain)
Commenting on the latest weird and wonderful haul, Brian Gibson, PDSA Area Retail Manager, said: “It really is amazing to see some of the donations received from our generous supporters. Our staff and volunteers are used to donations of clothing, books, DVDs and furniture, which all help raise valuable money for poorly pets.
"But every now and then they are faced with a real surprise. These can range from the very valuable to the downright strange – but we are always grateful as we know they are given with the best of intentions.
“It just goes to show that you never know what you’ll find in a PDSA store, so it’s well worth paying us a visit. In addition to the usual bargains you could pick up something truly exceptional.”
Topping this year’s list is a donation of 100 brand new designer wedding dresses which were given anonymously to the charity’s Boscombe store. With a high street retail value exceeding £50,000, the dresses are now being snapped up by brides on a budget, some of whom have travelled across the country to visit the makeshift wedding wonderland.
Annie Campbell, PDSA Area Retail Manager for the Boscombe store, said: “We were amazed by the size and generosity of this donation – not what we expect to find when sorting through donations! The dresses are absolutely stunning and there is a fabulous range. They’re on sale from £150 and will raise around £10,000 for us in total.”
A slightly tatty teddy bear donated to Teignmouth PDSA was later identified as a 1900 antique Steiff teddy bear which raised an incredible £650 at auction.
Not every item on the list was quite as valuable, but the charity’s staff managed to raise money from some of the everyday items. The kitchen sink was sold for £60 and even the roll of turf raised £4.99.
A few of the weirder top-ten donations proved impossible to sell however – the out of date spaghetti packets (from 2004), false teeth, six-year-old calendar and x-rated items were all thrown away.
On average, every bag of donated items received by PDSA is worth £12 to the charity, meaning that one bag of donations would help PDSA pay for a month of life-saving insulin for a diabetic pet, two bags would help towards the cost of x-raying a pet in need, while three bags would ensure four pets received vital intravenous fluid.
PDSA needs to raise £60 million each year to fund its vital veterinary service – which provides over 1.8 million free treatments to poorly pets annually. So the charity is calling on UK pet lovers to wade through their wardrobes and donate any unwanted items to help pets in need.
To find out more about donating to you local PDSA store please visit www.pdsa.org.uk/stores.
