Daisy Appeal’s campaign to turn Christmas clutter into cash

RAISING FUNDS: Claire Levy with some of the items donated for the Daisy Appeal’s Christmas clutter campaign

By Rick Lyon

One of the region’s leading charities is hoping to raise much-needed funds from a rush of festive giveaways as it completes a first Christmas with its virtual charity shop.

Claire Levy, fundraiser for the Daisy Appeal, said the charity’s eBay outlet, which was launched during 2022, has given supporters an easy route to dispose of unwanted items and raise money.

The hope is that as the tinsel and trees come down, people will also embark on a post-Christmas clear-out of unwanted presents and of old items which have been replaced by new purchases.

Claire said: “We have received a considerable amount of money using Amazon Smile over the last three or four years and during 2022 we developed our online presence further with ebay.

“The site allows people to donate up to 100 per cent of whatever they receive from their sales, or they can just give the items to us and we’ll sell them. It’s quicker than going into a charity shop!”

The Daisy Appeal – which appears on eBay as the Hull and East Yorkshire Medical Research Centre – is currently focusing on building and fitting out a Molecular Imaging Research Centre (MIRC) at a cost of £8.8m to transform detection techniques for serious medical conditions including cancer, heart disease and dementia.

Claire said: “It’s easy to use and I’ve sold all sorts of stuff – things that businesses find in their back rooms, things that people dig out at home - shoes, wedding dresses, bits of cutlery, photo frames.

“It’s the same sort of things you find when you walk into any charity shop and it’s very straightforward. People can pay as much as they like and they can just make donations if they want – it all helps.”

Claire, whose background is in marketing, has worked as a fundraiser since 2010 and joined the Daisy Appeal in 2018. She is experienced in traditional fundraising events and has worked hard with Hull-based agency Design Workshop to develop the online presence.

Claire said: “More traditional fundraisers include bequests and collections and we get support from people who get a lot of fun by running events in pubs, shops, work and schools.

“But as many activities fell victim to the pandemic we increased our online activities, encouraging people to take part in Facebook fundraisers. Rather than give presents at Christmas they can set themselves a target and a challenge. We are always happy to work with people on ideas to help them raise money.

“The online presence has enabled us to attract donations from far and wide, with challenges being organised at the other end of the country by people who are from the Humber area, or whose relatives here have benefited from the services funded by the Daisy Appeal.

“But although we operate across the country we are not a faceless national charity. We work hard to build good relationships and to show people where their money is going and what it’s doing.

“We introduced our own range of merchandise during 2022 including t-shirts, running vests, bags, bottles and more and we can show that 96p in the pound goes to the charity because we keep our overheads under control.

“We don’t have a lot of staff or posh offices that need a lot of money. We are a local charity which is benefiting people from our area – it’s world beating and local benefiting.”

To contact Claire for help with organising donations or events email claire@daisyappeal.org