Charity shops run by Inspire Foundation will be upgraded with the aim to triple the funds they generate and provide a more dignified shopping experience to the “many poor people” who shop there out of necessity.

The foundation, which supports people with disabilities and their families, was awarded €50,000 – to fund part of the €123,000 charity shop project – when it was recently named the winner of the first televised edition of the Malta Social Impact Awards.

The prize money will go towards revamping the three charity shops and opening three new shops in areas where there are concentrations of people who are at risk of poverty.

The project also involves investing in a warehouse where to store and sort donated items, training staff and employing people with disabilities.

“We are really happy and excited as this project has so many wins,” said Claire Galea, Fundraising – Corporates at Inspire Foundation.

“We are helping people in poverty and helping Inspire by boosting the funds roped in from the shops. This project is also supporting the environment as we plan to reduce the amount of items we throw out by 10 to six skips a week. We will also be supporting people with disabilities to get and retain jobs.”

The charity shop project was voted the winner by a panel of judges during the televised competition-based reality show hosted by Xandru Grech. The awards, an initiative launched by the Gasan Foundation and Inspirasia Foundation in 2016, brought businesses and philanthropists together to support local initiatives that have a positive social impact on Malta.

Galea said the charity shop project aimed to ensure that the shops “make money but remain affordable”.

The project idea was born after staff noticed that many people who went to the charity shops were doing so because they were struggling financially and could not afford to shop anywhere else.

We want to turn it into a more dignified experience and not one that involves people rummaging through piles of donated items

“We see a lot of elderly people, migrants and single mothers. At our shops they can buy a full outfit for under €10 that may include branded items. There are a few customers who are into thrift stores and upcycling, but those are the exceptions. We realised that some people are embarrassed to be seen in the shops and we want to change this.

“We want to turn it into a more dignified experience and not one that involves rummaging through piles of donated items.

“Apart from this, over the years, we have been discussing the need to boost the shops’ fundraising potential,” she said.

Inspire Foundation spends €4 million a year on supporting people with disabilities.

While 70 per cent of the costs are sustained through a number of service agreements with government, the foundation must find a way to raise the remaining amount in order to be able to provide their existing services to persons with a disability.

The charity shops, opened in 2009, contribute to help Inspire raise the required funds.

There are currently three charity shops located in Birżebbuġa, Marsascala and Victoria in Gozo. The shops generate some 30,000 transactions a year and the plan is to raise an additional €130,000 a year that can be re-invested to improve Inspire’s disability services.

“We want to develop the retail experience. Currently, the shops are just a space where items are placed to sell,” she said. Items range from clothes and children’s essentials like pushchairs and car seats, to household items and books.

At the moment, people take unwanted items to the shops and staff filter them in the parking area. Badly damaged items are removed and disposed of. The rest is placed in piles for people to go through.

The plan is to refine the filtering process, to upcycle where possible and to display and present the items for sale better in a better condition, providing an improved and more dignified shopping experience.

The project will include four phases. The first involves investing in a warehouse, to store and sort items, as well as laundry equipment. 

Second, they will set up an IT system to control and catalogue items and be ready to sell online in future. The third area involves refitting the shops to upgrade them, make them fully accessible and open more shops. Finally, staff will be trained and new staff employed including people with disabilities.

The 2nd and 3rd place winners of the awards will be chosen by the public. Voting closes at noon today and the winners will be announced at 6pm. Visit the Malta Social Impact Awards Facebook page to cast your vote and find out who the winners are.