New shop to open in Rugeley’s former indoor market hall

The shop, which covers a space of around 9,000 sq ft just off Bees Street, will sell everything from electrical items and furniture to clothing and accessories.

Simon Dodd, Katharine House Hospice’s retail general manager, said: “The team is working hard to ensure this shop is up and running as soon as possible. It will generate much-needed revenue to help us provide free expert care to families living with incurable illnesses.”

Katharine House Hospice celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and has helped over 30,000 patients and their loved ones from Stafford and surrounding areas.

Last year, the charity’s shops contributed £1.6 million to fund its palliative care and support services, which helped more than 2,000 families.

“Our shops are essential to help fund our care, and having a large presence in Rugeley is really important to us. The people of Rugeley can access our care services at home and our hospice, so it’s great for them to access one of our stores locally as well.” Simon continued.

Newly appointed Store Manager, George Bradley, re-joins the Katharine House Hospice retail team, having worked for the charity for seven years previously. George was a store manager at two of the charity’s largest stores, as well as being Retail Area Manager for four years.

Commenting on his new role, George said: “I’m delighted to be back at Katharine House Hospice and look forward to working alongside a brand new team to help the hospice make much-needed funds. It feels like I have come home.”

The shop is already accepting donations and will open for sales at 10 am on 15 April. The opening day will also feature live entertainment from local musician, Nehanda.

The charity is seeking volunteers to help out in the store.

Simon said: “Volunteers play a vital role throughout our charity, and they all seem to really enjoy giving something back. We take people of all ages from all walks of life and provide full training. People can work whatever hours and days suit them. For some people, it is about gaining confidence or skills to help them get back into paid work; for others, it’s about getting out of the house and socialising and feeling useful.”