Doors open at new Strathcarron shop in Falkirk's Howgate centre

A second shop has opened in Falkirk town centre with the opening on Thursday of the store in the Howgate shopping centre.

The previous branch in the centre closed in 2020 due to the pandemic but has now returned and brings the total number of Strathcarron charity shops across Forth Valley, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth to 13.

This latest branch, which was officially opened by hospice supporter Baljit Dhillon, includes a quality range of preloved clothes, shoes, books and children’s toys, as well as a selection of new goods and a range of gifts.

Strathcarron Shops are vital in fundraising for the hospice. By donating and shopping at the charity stores over the last year the local community has helped raise around £500,000 (including Gift Aid) for their local hospice.

This goes directly into the hospice to make sure everyone can benefit from the very best end of life care.

The charity stores also provide volunteering opportunities, training in retail skills, tackling loneliness and isolation and fostering a sense of community.

David Rennie, Strathcarron Hospice area sales manager, said: “We are all delighted to make a return to Falkirk’s Howgate Shopping Centre with our retail manager Karen Drummond.. We will also have all the same group of volunteers from the original store who are excited to be back in the Howgate.

"This is a local community who are incredibly active in supporting their local hospice. By shopping and donating their goods, I am continually impressed by the level of commitment, hard work and dedication. We are also grateful to all our amazing volunteers, as well as many other individuals, organisations and students who donate funds, as well as their time, goods and services”.

Fiona Hannah, Strathcarron Hospice, deputy area retail manager, said: “We see and hear of such beautiful acts of kindness from local people who regularly visit, shop and donate to our charity shops. We are so inspired by how kind and generous our community is – grateful to all of our staff and volunteers.

"A special thank you to Chandra Pollock and all the team at Howgate shopping centre, as well as Elaine Grant and the team from Falkirk Delivers for all of their help and support and for making us all feel so welcome”.

The hospice is also recruiting retail volunteers and more info can be found on here