By Ann Marie Foley - 28 September, 2013
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) has launched a special appeal for Ireland’s second National Declutter Day which takes place today (Saturday 28th of September).
Along with other charities that run charity shops, the SVP are urging the public to send on appropriate items that emerge from the decluttering for resale.
According to experts, decluttering is a task that many find challenging but it is also therapeutic.
Donating to charity is a feel-good exercise and is a great way to extend the life of unloved, good-condition items, according to Breda Stack, Declutter Therapist, and founder of National Declutter Day and author of the Declutter Therapy™ Book-and-DVD Set.
She is on a mission to get everyone in Ireland decluttering . “National Declutter Day is a win-win for all. I want to create awareness around the many practical and holistic benefits of decluttering and get everyone in Ireland involved,” she said.
The day emphasizes three points: declutter to feel good; donate to charity; and reuse and recycle.
This year it involves up to 29 local and national causes, including 27 members of the Irish Charity Shops Association (ICSA) who operate over 360 charity shops around the country. The SVP is among those and has shops almost nationwide.
According to the SVP, its various shops have different requirements. For example clothes and books are welcome everywhere but not all SVP shops have the room or can handle furniture. So it is recommended that people ring ahead to the shop they wish to donation to.
“All monies raised from items sold in SVP shops are used to provide assistance to people in need who request help from the Society. Monies raised locally stays locally,” a SVP spokesperson told CatholicIreland.net.
“Overall numbers approaching SVP for help continues to increase while donations are under pressure. The general public continues to be extremely generous to the Society of St Vincent de Paul but the cumulative effect of austerity budgets over the past five years has made fund-raising more difficult,” the spokesperson said.
As well as the SVP shops, the other charity shops involved in the National Declutter Day include AgeAction, Aware, Barnardos, The Bubblegum Club, Cheeverstown, Clare Haven Services, CopeGalway, Debra Ireland, Enable Ireland, Friends of the Elderly, Gorta, Irish Cancer Society, Irish Deaf Society, Irish Wheelchair Association, Lámh Healing Foundation, Liberties Recycling, Mater Foundation, MS North West Therapy Centre, NCBI, Oxfam Ireland, St Brigid’s Family and Community Centre.
