A NEW shop in Coventry that will raise vital funds for an animal charity moved a step closer to opening owing to the hard work of volunteers from UK Flooring Direct.

RSPCA Coventry and District Branch needs to raise £40,000 a month to run its rehoming centre with its main source of income coming from its shops in Allesley, Wyken and Earlsdon.

The £100,000 a year they collectively generate keeps the Coundon Wedge Drive-based operation running for approximately two-and-a-half months.

Now, a fourth shop under the charity’s banner was on track to be open in the Coundon area of the city by the end of February.

It’s been all hands-on deck at the Norman Place Road building to provide it with a new lease-of-life and significant help was provided from UK Flooring Direct.

Employees Manesh Parekh, trade assistant manager and Gavin Pearson, internal sales consultant, rolled up their sleeves as part of the leading flooring retailer’s employer-supported volunteering programme.

Their contribution towards the redecoration project helped bring forward the expected opening day that will allow the charity to commence raising vitals funds sooner than expected.

Charlotte Hawthorne RSPCA volunteer coordinator said: ‘Manesh and Gavin were absolutely brilliant. They did a lot of painting around the shop and livened it up and gave it a new lease-of-life really.

‘We didn’t expect them to get as much done as they did. They finished it all and we were so chuffed.’
Once open, the shop will sell clothes, books, houseware, crockery, electrical items and be welcoming donations from the general public.

‘The shops are massively important to us,’ added Charlotte. ‘All the money raised comes automatically to us in the rehoming centre.

‘They do a massive amount of work. Hopefully now we’ve got another one, we will be able to put more money into rehoming the animals, vet treatments and other items. People don’t realise how much they are supporting us when they donate items, we sell them for profit that automatically comes straight to us here at the centre.

‘At all of our shops we only have one paid staff member per shop, all the rest are volunteers. So, companies such as UKFP, who are undertaking this kind of programme, are brilliant. It saves us so much time. There’s no way we would be able to do all of it on our own. We’d have to do it in our own time, or find other volunteers who would be able to do it.

‘The fact that the company has thought about it, and been able to give us the time and bodies to do it is a massive, massive help.’

Ashleigh McKenna, HR advisor at UK Flooring Direct, said: ‘It’s really important to us that we give back to the communities where we are based, and our ESV programme really helps us to get out to great causes such as the RSPCA Coventry and District Branch. Some of our employees volunteered at the RSPCA Coventry and District Branch back in September 2022, so it was great to go back and help out again!

‘In addition, it’s great for team morale and team building and shows everyone both inside and outside the company the kind of values we have as a business. We look forward to seeing RSPCA open its fourth shop in the city and it successfully generating vital funds the incredible work they do around the clock throughout the year.’
www.ukflooringdirect.co.uk