VOLUNTEERS will tomorrow celebrate the tenth anniversary of the St Clare Hospice charity shop in Epping.

Officially opened by Epping Forest Guardian editor David Jackman on August 15, 1998, the shop was the second St Clare Hospice shop to be launched. Now there are six which collectively contributed over £220,000 last year towards the hospice’s running costs.

Gerry Bell, now director of finance for St Clare Hospice – who was responsible for setting up and opening the Epping shop – said: “On the first day of opening the shop took over £2,000 in sales and customers could see that a great deal of attention had been given to ease of shopping in pleasant surroundings and that above all customer care was of vital importance.

“Today that image has been upheld and improved upon by the present shop team.”

Many things have changed over the past decade but all St Clare Hospice shops still rely on the generosity of the local community.

Retail sales manager Louise Hamilton said: “Our retail business generates vital funds for the hospice but we couldn’t run our shops without our volunteers, donors and customers. We’re very grateful for their sustained support and hope they will continue to think of their local hospice when considering volunteering or donating goods to charity.”