The GreenHouse to be Worthing’s largest charity shop
Worthing is set to become home to the largest charity shop in Sussex thanks to the community. Guild Care will increase the size of The GreenHouse, its largest store, from around 900 square metres to more than 1,500 square metres by expanding into a neighbouring warehouse unit in Meadow Road.
The charity has been supporting and caring for members of the Worthing community for nearly 90 years.
Expansion needed due to lack of space
The charity shop needs the extra space because although The GreenHouse is Guild Care’s main donation centre and highest revenue generator, it is not large enough to cope with the volume of items being given by members of the public.
There is a particular shortage of space to sell furniture, which supporters have said they are keen to buy to support a local cause.
The expansion will also mean that the charity shop will look to take on two more full-time employees and three more part-time staff to work alongside the 30-40 volunteers at the store, of whom roughly a third have a learning disability.
Each year over 3,000 local people and their families are supported by the services of Guild Care, which aims to reduce social isolation, loneliness and social stigma around learning disabilities, older people and dementia.
Comments on the expansion and charity’s services
Worthing Borough Council’s planning committee approved the request for the charity to be allowed to use the additional warehouse space for three years.
Cllr Jim Deen, the chairman of Worthing’s planning committee, said: “Guild Care plays an important role in the lives of so many people in the town and I’m delighted that it is going to expand because of its popularity. It’s wonderful that the community recognises and supports the great work the charity’s teams do for local people.”
Adam Rider, the director of retail at Guild Care, said: “We’re really excited to have been given the go ahead to proceed with making our charity superstore even bigger and better. The GreenHouse is already an amazing place to visit, with an ever-changing range of value for money items, from furniture and electrical goods, to toys, clothes, household items and sports equipment.
“The expansion will make it the largest charity shop in Sussex and one of the largest in the UK. As a charity, every penny of the revenue from our shops is reinvested back into our services and facilities.”
