Charity starts at The Mall Blackburn!

The Mall Blackburn has ‘donated’ one of its shops to its official charity Nightsafe.
 
The unit will be used for a variety of purposes during a seven-week period starting with a charity shop, which will open on Friday 21st August until Monday 7th September.
 
From Saturday 12th September the unit will be transformed into a craft fair and volunteers and young people are busy making cards, fairy doors and pretty vintage inspired decorations to be sold throughout the Heritage Festival Weekend.
 
Following this, the unit is being utilised as an art gallery showcasing the work produced by homeless young people in 2014.
 
The My Place project saw Blackburn with Darwen’s young homeless tell their stories and share their experience of homelessness through their own photography, which they also framed themselves.
 
Jay Ratcliffe, Volunteer Co-ordinator at Nightsafe said: “We are absolutely delighted that The Mall has offered us a unit free of charge for seven weeks – it is certainly a donation with a difference!
 
“Not only will it enable us to generate funds through our charity shop and craft fair, it will also mean we can raise more awareness of the work we do in the county and show off the stunning work our young people produced last year.
 
“We have been very grateful for the support we have received from The Mall and this really is going the extra mile to support us.”
 
Loraine Jones, General Manager at The Mall Blackburn, added: “Nightsafe is a local charity that is very close to all our hearts here at The Mall.
 
“It has been an absolute pleasure to support them and we are really excited about their plans for the shop. I am sure they will get a very warm welcome from our retailers and shoppers.”
 
The Mall Blackburn announced Nightsafe as its nominated charity earlier this year and has already raised more than £1600, supported its Charity walk with free water and energy bars and held a raffle at its annual Retailer Awards.
 
Nightsafe is a Blackburn based charity that provides support and holistic services to homeless and vulnerable young people.
 
Donations for the charity shop can be made at the Nightsafe offices at The Boulevard Centre in the Cathedral Quarter or call the Cornfield Centre 01254 705120 for your items to be collected.