Temperatures are starting to drop but it’s cosy and warm in your local Oxfam shop where our autumn/winter collection has arrived.
Getting your wardrobe winter ready doesn’t have to cost the earth – you can find the latest trends plus designer and vintage items. It’s an ethical and affordable fashion fix!
If you’re editing your wardrobe or clearing out clutter, our shops really need the things you don’t. Over the past three years, donations have fallen by as much as 50% and stock in many shops has reached critically low levels.
Every single item donated makes a big difference. With the current crisis in Syria worsening, these donations are needed more than ever to help us provide emergency aid as a harsh winter approaches.
Above: A coveted geometric print coat (€15/£13), black top (€6.50/£5.50) and a leather pencil skirt (€12.50/£10.50), a top trend this season, from our Oxfam Bangor shop are examples of what you might find in your local store. We also stock men's wear and children's wear.
Here’s just some of the ways that the bag of things you bring into your local Oxfam Ireland shop and or drop into your nearest donation bank can help to change the lives of people for the better:
A bracelet sold for €3.50/£3 can buy a hygiene kit for a Syrian refugee, helping to prevent the spread of deadly diseases
A big black bag of the clothes you’ve fallen out of love with could raise €60/£50, enough to give a refugee family enough food to fight hunger for about a month
A piece of furniture that’s taking up precious space sold to a new home for £100/€120 could help provide a family who have fled Syria with a roof over their head for a month
Above: Moneera Al-Harari plays with younger relatives in the tent she shares with her family in the Za’atari camp in Jordan. She and her father, along with six brothers and sisters, left their home in Syria because of the continuous bombings and food shortages. We’re providing people in the camp with access to water and sanitation, and coordinating hygiene training to prevent the spread of life-threatening diseases. We have currently reached some 20,000 Syrian refugees with emergency latrines and recently completed shower, toilet and laundry blocks which will provide sanitation for 8,000. Anastasia Taylor-Lind/Oxfam
Call into your local Oxfam shop today, we’d love to see you!
Caitríona Hennessy is Oxfam Ireland’s Marketing Executive.
NOTE: Unfortunately, due to supply issues, we've had to discontinue our range of refurbished laptops and computers.
We don’t just use digital technology to talk about what we’re doing – it’s part of how we’re doing things in our projects around the world.
From providing cash transfers in emergencies like the Haiti earthquake to the innovative Pink Phones Project in Cambodia which gives women farmers the latest farming information using mobile phones, technology enhances our work and empowers people living in poverty to build a brighter future.
Clockwise from top:Yoshi Nolan (17) bought her Born Again laptop in our Tullamore shop. She uses it to surf the internet, type up notes and save her photos. James Flynn/APX. Mobile phone technology has allowed women like Vansy, who lives in a rural community in Cambodia, to access the latest farming information such as weather patterns and crop prices. Oxfam’s Pink Phones Project has transformed women’s lives by enabling them to buy bigger plots of land, sell more vegetables and build a sustainable livelihood. Simon Rawles/Oxfam Cathy Hackett (5), Ella Sharkey (5) and Chloe Sharkey (8) demonstrate how we give computers a new lease of life. Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland.
Excellent quality, great value, environmentally friendly and helping to end poverty – these are pretty amazing computers!
Sourced from companies who are changing over to new hardware, each one has been lovingly restored, tested and supplied with a fresh operating system and applications, plus comes with a 6-month warranty.
To make it easier to pick your perfect computer, the range is divided into three specs/usage categories, including student-friendly Surfer, family-orientated Plus and the powerful Pro which is ideal for small businesses.
Yoshi Nolan, a student from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, recently bought a computer from her local Oxfam shop. “I am absolutely delighted with my new computer,” she says. “It’s great to get a good laptop at a reasonable price and it’s also nice to know that the money is going somewhere good.”
Our Oxfam Home stores are a treasure trove of vintage furniture. Most pieces fly out the door, but others stay a little longer as they wait for a customer who can see past first appearances.
With a little imagination and a bit of elbow grease, you can transform furniture that has seen better days into a one-of-a-kind piece by upcycling.
Not only will you have helped the planet by recycling, you’ll also be helping to fund Oxfam Ireland’s vital work with communities around the world.
Above: The Little Museum of Dublin on St. Stephen’s Green was packed full of would-be upcyclers to hear tips from Neville Knott (top-centre) and other experts. Photos: Paul Sherwood.
The creative geniuses at Galerie Lisette,Quirkistuff and Upside Design worked their magic on furniture from Oxfam Home shops and unveiled the results at the recent Ultimate Upcycle event in Dublin hosted by TV presenter and interior guru Neville Knott.
For more about the event plus tips from the designers, click here. A big thanks to everyone involved!
Left to right:Once a computer desk, mum and daughter team Aida and Lucina Lennon at Galerie Lisette have turned this into a pretty dressing table. Husband and wife Les and Sue Corbett of Quirkistuff have given this tired cabinet a vibrant yellow and purple makeover complete with tassle. Upside Design’s Al Birbeck and Nawel Kouadri found the name of a previous owner inside this wardrobe, a young girl. This inspired the feminine look, complete with collage-style wallpaper.Photos: Paul Sherwood.
These stunning pieces are now on sale – Galerie Lisette’s floral-inspired computer desk turned dressing table (€195 - pictured left) and Upside Design’s gorgeous girlie wardrobe (€695 - pictured right) are at Oxfam Home, Francis Street, Dublin 2 (01-478 0777), while QuirkiStuff’s vibrant cabinet (€245 - pictured centre) can be yours by dropping into Oxfam Home on King’s Inn Street, Dublin 1 (01-874 8175).
And if you’re feeling inspired, we’d love to help you pick out a piece of furniture for your upcycling project at our Oxfam Home shops (we’re also on the Dublin Road in Belfast). Drop in and get creative!
You’ll spot their funny slogans like “Put a sock in it. (And other clothes too)” or “I need romance. (And other books too)?".
But they do serious work, providing crucial stock for your local Oxfam shop and turning your unwanted items into life-changing funds for our work around the world.
This week's excellent RTÉ Prime Time programme highlighted how some clothing donation banks are being targeted by criminal gangs.
We want to let you know that we have no evidence whatsoever to suggest that our banks are being broken into.
In fact, we identified this risk a few years and began replacing our existing banks with an extremely secure design.
Top: Your donations are in safe hands with Oxfam. Bottom: Two little girls peeking from their tent which they share with three other families in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. Their mother, Zaniah Ishmail fled from the violence in Syria and brought her children here to keep them safe. "We have been here 4 months. There were two very heavy clashes between the Free Syrian Army and the Regime and we were worried that we wouldn’t have another chance to get out of our village again so we escaped.” Photo: Simon Rawles / Oxfam.
Because we know the effort you go to in order to gather clothes and books and bring them to our banks, we conduct regular and rigorous checks to ensure you can have peace of mind that your donations will go where they’re intended – the local Oxfam shop.
Your generous donations are collected by our team of uniformed drivers and branded vehicles who bring them directly to our nearest shop.
This supports our vital work, from helping refugees fleeing Syria to long-term development projects and campaigning that gives a voice to people affected by poverty and injustice.
We really need the things you don’t. Please support our Make Space for Oxfam campaign and bring unwanted clothes and books to our donation banks and shops.
Every one of our Oxfam Ireland shops is a treasure trove of vintage, pre-loved and sometimes brand new items and our branch on Dublin’s South King Street has a very special piece of jewellery on sale now.
The stunning 18k yellow and white gold necklace with heart pendant by Chimento was donated to the shop by a very generous Oxfam supporter.
Valued at €2,500, (and on sale for a much better price) the funds this item will raise will make a huge difference to the lives of people affected by poverty. Call Barbara or Jackie on (01) 671 0308 now before it's snapped up!
If you’ve fallen for this beautiful piece, or know someone who would love it this Christmas, the necklace is available to view by appointment only at our South King Street shop. Call today on (01) 671 0308 to view the piece.
