Charity Shop Challenge Day
Current cup holders: Linklaters
Representatives from city firms (ideally individual companies or different departments within one company) are challenged to run one of our charity shops for the day. The Spitalfields Crypt Trust’s five charity shops are in:
• Commercial Street, Spitalfields, E1.
• Roman Road, Bow, E3
• Barking Road, Canning Town, E16.
• Chrisp Street Market, Poplar, E14.
• Watney Market, Whitechapel, E1.
Teams are encouraged from the moment that they take up the ‘SCT Charity Shop Challenge’ to start planning their activities for the day itself and coordinating their team’s efforts in their place of work. (see overleaf for suggestions from past participants in the Shop Challenge)
The BIG aim is to enjoy a challenging and fun-filled team building exercise, competing against other city companies or departments for the title of ‘SCT Charity Shop Champion’. At the same time, engaging with local people and raising funds for a key local East End resource.
How does it work?
1. City firms look after a dedicated East End charity shop for the day
2. They compete against each other to maximise the day’s profits for their shop
3. Each team needs to be approximately 5 – 20 people. For the day to work best, teams need to have a ‘core’ group of participants who stay throughout the day.
4. The winner is the team that raises their own shop’s TOTAL income by the largest amount on the day and as a result of their activities leading up to the day itself.
Preparations before the Big Day
• Teams are encouraged to visit ‘their’ shop, meet the shop staff and also their dedicated SCT staff member who will mentor their team throughout the Challenge and be there for them on the day itself.
• Team are encouraged start planning their activities from the moment they accept the Challenge. In the past, successful teams have started fundraising activities in their company well in advance of the day itself. Successful ideas have included office raffles, dress-down days, cake bake sales, and the collection of donated items to sell in ‘their’ shop.
• Teams are encouraged to approach friends and colleagues for donations of good quality goods to sell in their shop on the day. (Goods need to be brought to the shop in good time for staff to price them.)
• Teams in recent years have used Mission Fish and Just Giving sites to attract support and raise funds.
• Teams generate support (and prizes) from local and city contacts, friends and family.
• Teams can create leaflets to hand out, send emails to colleagues and local people to advertise the day
On the Day
Teams can successfully attract increased custom to their shop by:
Encouraging colleagues and friends to visit the shop to support their efforts and join in the fun.
Dressing in fancy dress
Offering refreshments (one participating company provided a very popular chocolate fountain!)
Running lucky dips
Decorating their shop
Running raffles and auctions
Using SCT collection boxes for office and street collections
The possibilities are endless...!
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PARTICIPATING, PLEASE CONTACT, VICKY.BRACEY@SCT.ORG.UK OR ON 020 7729 2376.
Case Studies
One team:
• Got their boss to donate two suitcases of clothing, which the team bought and then wore the following week at all meetings with him...
• Stole the Director’s cakes and sold them in the market...
• Did a lunchtime bake sale on the trading floor and got their boss to volunteer his time to make sure that everyone who came in and out made a donation. They raised over £1000 this way.
• Asked a teammate to wear a bridesmaid’s dress into the local pub – it was hideous and took her £200 worth of encouragement to do it!
• Wore their works Team Challenge t-shirts but customised them by cutting them, dying them, adding baubles and lipstick kisses all over them.
• Wore the most hideous things they could find in the shop for the day.
• Got all the men in their department to donate ties and shirts to sell on the day.
• Organised an auction on their trading floor which raised in excess of £11,000.
• Had local Eastenders lining up to throw wet sponges at their colleague who was in the stocks. It was December and freezing cold
• Went collecting the evenings before the challenge in the local pubs near to their work.
• Had a stall at work and sold new goods from our shops, Christmas cards and gift wrap.
Can you come up with a better idea?
Charity Shop Challenge Champions to date:
Linklaters - 15th December 2009, Barking Road Shop
UBS "Sheila's Deals" - 8th & 9th December 2009, Commercial Street Shop
Wragge & Co. – October 2009, Commercial Street Shop
AON - June 2009, Roman Road Shop
Accenture - December 2008, Chrisp Street Shop
UBS - June 2008, Commercial Street Shop
FSA - December 2007, Rathbone Market Shop
Our thanks goes to the following competitors:
Linklaters, Deutsche Bank, Thomson Reuters, UBS, FSA, Accenture, AON, Allen and Overy, Wragge & Co., RL Group, Norton Rose and Eversheds