By Laura Roddy
Oxfam Ireland is looking for people to donate their unwanted Christmas presents.
The charity that runs 51 shops around Ireland undertook a survey which revealed that more than eight out of 10 people have received presents over the Christmas period that they will never use.
Over half of the population of Ireland have been gifted clothes that did not meet their expectations, along with beauty products, toiletries and books.
Other unwanted presents include jewellery, gadgets and homeware.
The Oxfam shop on Lower Abbeygate Street in Galway is appealing for donations of these gifts after this survey also uncovered that 86 per cent of adults in Connacht said they would consider donating their presents to the charity.
Its manager, Agnes Sage, told Sin Newspaper: “A lot of people didn’t know they could give their unwanted Christmas presents. We are accepting any donations at all, a scarf or a candle. We have been getting lots of unwanted perfumes. Even kids toys are welcome.”
The organisation is in need of donations to raise funds for Oxfam programmes which include the emergency responses in Syria, South Sudan, Gaza and also the response to Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Oxfam Ireland’s Head of Retail Michael McIlwaine said: “No matter how small the donation, every little helps. It takes just a moment to bag an unwanted gift but it could change a life forever.
“So think twice before binning that unwanted present or shoving it to the back of the wardrobe. We are calling on people to support their local Oxfam shop by dropping in those less than perfect presents and other unwanted items.”
Here are examples of how donating unwanted presents to the local Galway Oxfam shop can help people:
- A top sold for €6 could help purify 2,000 litres of water for a South Sudan makeshift camp;
- €15 for an unopened cosmetic set could supply an eco-friendly efficient stove to a family in Democratic Republic of Congo;
- An unwanted necklace sold for €30 will feed a child orphaned by Aids in Malawi for over three months
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