Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Len
Volunteering
Alexia tells us how she supports Bath Cats & Dogs Home with clothes donations
Our amazing supporter, Alexia, shares her lifelong love of animals and how she has supported the charity over many years. She explains how one of her preferred ways to support animal care is by donating high quality clothing and accessories to our Moorland Road charity shop in Bath.
What made you want to support animal welfare charities?
“I’ve loved animals all my life since I was very young and I’m passionate about animal welfare. I grew up near Bath with lots of pets and was always a bit of a dog whisperer and a wildlife rescuer on holiday in Greece. I have continued this theme as an adult as I often help with searching for lost dogs and I enjoy helping to track them down. I’ve been donating money to various animal charities for years by selling clothes online and at car boot sales.”
What started your long relationship with Bath Cats and Dogs Home?
“In the past I have adopted two cats from your Rehoming Centre, one was a Persian cat and after she passed away I came back to the centre and found my lovely cat, Maisie. Sadly Maisie died about ten years ago. Since then I have rehomed two Malamutes called Mika Senior and Mika Junior from other places. Malamutes are a very special breed that I have a great affinity with as they are such vocal communicators.”
How are you currently supporting the charity?
“I have had an online fashion reselling business since I was a teenager selling high quality fashion labels online. I couldn’t justify selling great labelled and tagged clothes off cheap at a car boot sale for a few pounds when the charity could sell them for £20 plus. So that fuelled me to start regularly donating clothing to the charity’s Moorland Road shop in Bath.”
“I love passing on clothes to the charity and I never regret letting any clothes go even if it is valuable because I know it is going to such a great cause. I trust the staff at Moorland Road as I know that all my donations will immediately be put out on the rails to raise money to help animals.”
What would you say to other people about which donations help the charity most?
“We all have a few high street or designer clothes, shoes or accessories sitting in our wardrobe that we don’t wear anymore and if everyone could donate a few good quality fashion pieces to a Bath Cats and Dogs Home shop that would help the charity raise funds. Also don’t forget to set up Gift Aid in the shop so that every donation is boosted by 25%. This is especially important right now as so many pet owners are abandoning or rehoming their dogs due to the high cost of living, among other reasons. The charity is full with rescue cats and dogs and need support to fund their care, behaviour and medical rehabilitation as well as finding new homes for them.”
What impact has becoming a Gift Aider had on you?
“I was drawn to becoming a Gift Aider as I love to support animal charities like Bath Cats and Dogs Home and it is so satisfying knowing my donations are making more towards the care of animals. I’m always amazed and delighted to get a letter from the charity telling me how much I’ve contributed annually. Over the last few years, I’m happy to say that my personal annual donations have been worth over £800 including Gift Aid, plus I collect other donations from friends and contacts. If these funds can cover the cost of even one dog’s leg operation or behaviour rehabilitation, then that makes it all worthwhile.”
Why not sign up for Gift Aid when you’re next in one of our shops? It will increase the value of your donated items by 25% and raise more funds at no extra cost to you. All donations, especially good quality high street or designer clothing and accessories, help to fund the charity’s work to care for vulnerable cats and dogs.
Thank you to Alexia and to everyone who supports our charity shops. You can drop off your donations at our Claverton Down donation point or at any of our shops.
