'Arson' hit Sue Ryder charity shop re-opening (From Ilkley Gazette)

'Arson' hit Sue Ryder charity shop re-opening

1:54pm Friday 28th September 2012 in News By Amanda Greaves

A charity shop shut down by a suspected arson attack is opening its doors again tomorrow and is looking for new helpers.

The Sue Ryder shop, on Ilkley’s Cowpasture Road, suffered thousands of pounds of damage in an overnight blaze in June, thought to have been caused by a fire started deliberately in donation bags left outside.

The charity shop was forced to close for extensive refurbishment work.

The Sue Ryder charity – which runs hospices at Oxenhope, near Keighley, and in Headingley, Leeds – is finally re-opening the shop doors tomorrow.

Staff and volunteers have been busy stocking the shelves and getting the shop ready for the big re-opening.

Sue Ryder area retail manager Glynn Taylor said: “We tried our best to re-open the shop as soon as possible.

“The Ilkley shop is part of a network of 400 charity shops and plays a vital role to raise funds for health and social care charity Sue Ryder. Locally, Sue Ryder provides end-of-life and palliative care to people with complex care and support needs at two hospices, Manorlands Hospice near Keighley and Wheatfields Hospice in Leeds.

“Our shop specialises in the sale of musical instruments and has a dedicated book room on the first floor. Our shop manager, Andrea, is a music teacher and the perfect person to advise customers who have a keen interest in music.”

The shop is seeking volunteers to help with tasks in the shop, plus donations of good quality clothing, books and bric-a-brac.

Money raised from the shop will help the charity continue to provide local care to people living with terminal and long-term conditions such as cancer, stroke, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, dementia, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and motor neurone disease.

Visit the shop or call (01943) 816034 for details.