Mayo Hospice Shop marks 25 years of community spirit

ON Monday next, July 7, the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the opening of its first ever charity shop – the Swinford Hospice Shop.

In summer 2000, a group of dedicated local volunteers transformed a vision into a reality by launching the inaugural Hospice Shop on Chapel Street. The shop later relocated to its current premises at Bridge Street, Swinford.

The Swinford Hospice Shop became the first of 12 Hospice Shops to open in Mayo and Roscommon, paving the way for the expansion of hospice support throughout the region.

Offering quality new and second-hand clothing, bric-a-brac, books and more, the Swinford Hospice Shop, and others across the region, have become vital fundraising pillars for the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation.

Martina Jennings, CEO of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, said: “We are so grateful to the volunteers for having the vision 25 years ago to see the need for a charity shop to help support the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation. Without our customers, volunteers, staff and support groups, we wouldn’t have a community palliative care service or our two hospices in Mayo and Roscommon.

"We will always honour the volunteers, founders, staff and directors that have gone before us, by ensuring we are building a service on the foundations that they laid, and future proofing this service for those that come after us.”

A quarter of a century on, the Swinford shop continues to thrive as a crucial fundraising hub, community space and a testament to the power of volunteerism.

Anyone who wishes to make a donation to the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation can do so by logging on to www.hospice.ie or phoning (094) 9388666. People can also donate by calling into the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation Office, Main Street, Knock.