The front of the Helen and Douglas House Charity Shop in Abingdon has been painted and it looks good.

Oxfam have a promotion called Second Hand September. They are encouraging us to give clothes a longer life and reduce waste and help people beat poverty around the world.

The pop up wedding shop in the Bury Street is selling new wedding dresses. Next door, in the British Heart Foundation, there are second hand September wedding dresses.

There are more second hand wedding dresses in Acacia.

Angela wanted people to know that there will be a NSPCC table top sale on Saturday 3rd July.

She says ‘We are lucky to have the support of Waitrose, who will be bringing a table with a box of goodies and running a competition. This is a way for them to support local charities while they are unable to run their green tokens scheme.

NSPCC Childline has had a significant increase in calls for help from children due to the increase in domestic violence and poverty since COVID.’

Some of us have been more fortunate than others in our childhood. NSPCC is there to fight for every childhood.

Due to the delay in Lockdown easing the South Abingdon Play & Activity day has moved to Saturday 4th September. It too was originally planned for 3rd July. Organisations wanting to have a stall or run an activity could contact martin.gillett@oxonplay.org.uk .

Oxfam in Stert Street Abingdon have not only reopened, they also have a new facebook page. On it they say after discovering some hidden gems at Abingdon Oxfam, why not treat yourself to a milkshake, grab that much needed haircut, stock up on art supplies + gourmet food + find your dream door, also in Stert Street.

Oxfam are looking for donations, and to gain some new volunteers. Not everybody could return on reopening.

Volunteers help to sort and sell the donations in order to raise as much money as possible for Oxfam’s vital work around the world. They also sometimes need specialised knowledge such as valuing stamp donations.

Fund raising in more difficult in these times. In 2019 the Lions made over £4,000 taking round their Santa Sledge. The Virtual Santa in 2020 made £195.

The Lions donated £170 to The Stonehill Community Garden to help them set up a 7,000-litre water tank to allow them to use rainwater alone for their garden. Some of the lions volunteer with garden, and they have donated items before.

The Lions donated items for the Abingdon Foodbank. The foodbank said in February that demand at the Foodbank is still high and they were  looking for: tinned meat to make hot meals (mince, stew, meatballs), instant coffee, and also plain couscous.

The Lions kicked off their Easter fund raiser, knitted Easter Chicks with cream eggs. They have had nearly 200 chicks donated so far, some with cream eggs. Tesco Extra Abingdon has also kindly donated some cream eggs. Covid has meant that they have had to try new ways of selling them, and are currently use facebook to sell them at £2 each.

Other items they donated included:
• £50 for Kennington Playgroup to help them buy a fog cleaning machine.
• £314 for a powerful blender for a family that needs it due to a medical condition.
• A promise the support a family to buy a car safety harness, once covid allows.