Staff and volunteers at the Sue Ryder shop in Cliftonville are celebrating after being commended by the charity for their efforts to support the community.
As part of the ‘Safe and Warm with Sue Ryder’ partnership with energy network SGN, the shop team has been providing vital advice on topics including reducing bills and managing debt, to help residents maintain a safe and warm home.
Staff at the Northdown Road shop have also been actively raising awareness about carbon monoxide (CO) alarms and promoting the benefits of the free Priority Services Register (PSR), which supports people with additional needs during power cuts and loss of gas supplies.
Cliftonville’s Sue Ryder shop is one of five to be praised by the palliative and bereavement support charity, having recorded nearly 800 supportive conversations with shoppers since the project began.
Shop manager Chrissy Sayer said: “Our Sue Ryder shop sits at the heart of our community, and we are delighted to have been recognised for the role we’ve played in helping local people.
“By providing advice, information, and tools, we’ve been able to support individuals and families to stay safe and warm in their homes.”
Martin Wildsmith, Chief Commercial Officer at Sue Ryder, said: “It’s been just six months since we launched our partnership with SGN, with 88 of our Sue Ryder shop teams across the South East working hard to keep their communities safe and warm. “Since the beginning, we have achieved over 15,000 interactions in total across the region, providing vital information on energy support. A special thank you and congratulations to the Cliftonville team for their exceptional efforts in helping to make a difference to their local community.”
The Sue Ryder charity is encouraging people to take a moment to think about how they – and their friends and family – can stay safe and warm.
The PSR is free to sign up to for anyone who is vulnerable or requires extra support. This includes those of pensionable age, have a disability, are chronically ill, are pregnant, or with young children under 5. To register, visit: sueryder.org/priority
To find out more about staying safe and warm, visit: sueryder.org/safeandwarm
It’s good to see a charity shop expand it’s offering. Hopefully, more charity shops across different types of charity shops delivery more signposting.