Fall in Oxfam donations blamed on recession and bogus charity collectors

A COMBINATION of the recession and bogus doorstep charity collections has led to critically low supplies in Oxfam charity shops, the organisation has said.

The volume of donations to Oxfam shops has fallen dramatically in the past couple of years and it has left stock at acutely low levels.

Oxfam Ireland district retail manager Sheila Powers said the current economic situation has taken its toll on donations, particularly in the last six months.

“I don’t think people are less generous but everyone is shell-shocked. People feel they need to hang on to things, they are closing ranks and being really careful,” said Ms Powers.

All charity shops have suffered a drop in donations in the last couple of years because of bogus doorstep collections, she added.

“They have really eaten into what goes into charity shops,” she said.

She urged the public not to donate to doorstep collections if they do not recognise the charity or if the charity is not contactable.

“The chances are it is not genuine,” she said.

Oxfam yesterday launched an urgent appeal to the public to donate unwanted goods, including books, CDs, DVDs, handbags, clothing and homeware.

Its ability to respond to disasters such as the Haiti earthquake and Pakistan floods of 2010 was related directly to support for its shops, the charity said.

Five books donated provide one year’s schoolbooks for a child in Tanzania and one donated vase provides three buckets of safe drinking water, it said.