Paul Sartori Hospice at Home has been assisted by the Bluestone Foundation Community Fund with a grant to the value of £2,316.79 to help the development of an e-commerce project with the purchase of equipment and to deliver relevant training.
Paul Sartori identified the need for a previously unexploited income stream, having carried out significant market research on other charities. The Head of Retail at Paul Sartori, Tim Davies commented “78% of charities sell online; 18 million people in the UK shop on ebay; nationally online sales bring in around £20 million per annum – it made sense for the charity to tap into this potential market.” Tim concluded, “Many items donated to us have a much wider appeal if sold on the internet than if they were sold in one of local hospice at home Sartori Stores.”
Jerry Kelleher, E-Commerce Manager at Paul Sartori added, “We are grateful to the Bluestone Foundation Community Fund for assisting us in the early stages of this project. The e-commerce team now has the right tools and skills to maximise the value of the interesting and unique donations we have. Online we are able to achieve higher values for items than in store.” A number of items that were purchased by the grant included a camera and display mannequins for high-end designer clothes. This equipment, together with the bespoke e-commerce and photography training courses, have had a big impact on the project.
“The Bluestone Foundation Community Fund have left a legacy with the charity, to which we will always be grateful,” said Judith Williams Funding & Projects Coordinator at Paul Sartori who was responsible for applying for the grant. “The team, now consisting of part time e-commerce coordinators and volunteers who all contribute to the vital services we provide in the county,” added Judith.
The online Sartori Store is continuing to search for ‘star volunteers’ to help out! Help is needed to list more items to support the services delivered by the charity – researching and listing are two of the essential elements to sell online which take a huge amount of time. Volunteers, Riaz and Joey (pictured) at Paul Sartori support the e-commerce team in different ways. If you can spare a few hours to help with researching, listing, photographing items or packaging items, please get in touch with the team, based in Haverfordwest on 01437 454320, or contact Lisa Wells the Volunteer Coordinator at Paul Sartori lisa@paulsartori.org.
The Paul Sartori Hospice at Home Service provides a range of services to Pembrokeshire people living in the final stages of a life limiting illness, including home nursing care, equipment loan, complementary therapy, bereavement and counselling support, clinical nurse specialist in palliative care, physiotherapy, advance care planning and training. The services provided by the Paul Sartori Hospice at Home Service enable people in the later stages of any life limiting illness to be cared for and to die at home with dignity, independence, pain free and surrounded by those they hold most dear if that is their wish. Services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, thanks to the kind generosity of the Pembrokeshire Community.
Further information on the charity and its services can be obtained by visiting their website www.paulsartori.org, or by phoning 01437 763223.
