Donate to our shops

Are there items that you cannot take?

As well as raising money through selling donated goods, we also strive to keep our costs down. One of these costs is the disposal of items that we cannot sell, as we have to pay for these to be taken away. There are a number of different things that we cannot accept for a variety of reasons. These include items that we cannot sell for legal and/or safety reasons and so have no choice but to decline them. We do not wish to cause offence to you should we decline your donation, but trust that you will understand our reasons for doing so.

Items Not Accepted At Heart of Kent Hospice Shops:

Medication, solvents, used dentures, jewellery for pierced body-parts, used cosmetics and toiletries, mains or bottled gas appliances, microwaves, electric fires, petrol, oil or diesel-fuelled items, batteries, computer hard drives, electrical items that require a remote control device that is missing, prescription spectacles, food or drink, poisonous, toxic or hazardous substances, tobacco, ivory, bone or turtle shell products, counterfeit or homemade films and music, crash helmets, cycle helmets, hard hats or other protective headgear, buoyancy aids, uniforms and clothing with company names, toys, nightwear or upholstered furniture items that do not have the relevant safety labels, used child car seats, firearms, ammunition, weapons or realistic toy weapons, knives, blades or objects that could be used as weapons (this does not include kitchen knife sets).

I have some donations to bring to you. When can I bring them in?

We welcome your donations when we are open, but please can you call the shop you intend to take them to first. The shops, their opening times and telephone numbers can be found on our Find a shop page.

Can I leave my donations outside the door?

Please do not leave donations outside when we are shut. These donations generally either get stolen or damaged to the point where we need to throw them away. Most of our shops trade 6 days a week.

I have a large volume of donations to bring to you - would this be OK?

We welcome your donations all the time we are open, but it would help us greatly if they could be little and often. For this reason, we kindly ask you to phone the shop in advance to check whether the team are able to take your donations before making your journey. Visit our Find a shop page for opening times and telephone numbers.

Do you take electrical items?

We are happy to take electrical items as long as they are in working order and have no damage to the item, the cord or the plug. We PAT test any electrical items we are donated to ensure that the wiring is safe. Any damaged items are automatically disposed of.

What happens to items that you cannot sell?

We try our best to sell everything we are given. If this is not through our shops or Ebay, then we are able to sell certain items to third parties. This includes excess and damaged clothing; electrical items and excess homewares. Unfortunately there are instances where we need to dispose of items. As we have to pay for disposal, we try to keep this to a minimum, so will decline the offer of some donations if we believe we will need to dispose of them straightaway.