British Red Cross thanks the people of Greater Manchester for donating £568,923 worth of clothes over the past year

The county generously donated thousands of items over the past 12 months to help fund the British Red Cross’ lifesaving work in the UK and around the world:

The money raised in Greater Manchester equates to the cost of training 22,757 people in lifesaving first aid skills

The most sold items were in Greater Manchester were ladies tops, with home decoration and shoes also popular

The charity is calling on people in Greater Manchester to help raise even more this year after experiencing one of the busiest years in its history

The British Red Cross has thanked the people of Greater Manchester for their generous donations over the past 12 months, after locals helped raise more than £568,000 for the charity.

The British Red Cross is calling on people to help raise even more this year by donating their unwanted items to their local shop. This comes after the charity experienced one of its most demanding years for humanitarian support in the UK since World War Two.

The charity found that people in Greater Manchester primarily bought ladies tops, with £89,895 worth bought in the past year, and home decorations and shoes following closely behind. In total 147,760 transactions were made at shops in the county over the past year.

The donations have provided vital funds for the work of the British Red Cross with the amount raised equating to the cost of training 22,757 people in lifesaving first aid skills, 56,892 wheelchairs loaned for a week or 113,785 sets of toiletries for destitute asylum seekers.

The charity is calling on people across Greater Manchester once again to show their support for its vital work by donating old or unwanted items to British Red Cross charity shops in the area.

The call for more stock comes after the British Red Cross experienced one of its most demanding years for humanitarian support since WW1.

Donations will go towards the charity’s life-saving work around the world, including in the UK where staff and volunteers do everything from teaching about the importance of first aid, to helping people when tragedy strikes, working hand in hand with the emergency services.

Paul Thompson, Director of Retail at British Red Cross, said: “We would like to thank the people of Greater Manchester for their continued support and generous donations to our shops over the past year.

“Last year saw one of the largest responses in the history of the British Red Cross. We responded to 1,500 emergencies across the UK alone, supporting around 9,300 people in crisis. Red Cross shops are a vital source of funds to continue supporting work like this.

“With more than 330 shops in the UK we can turn any donation in kind directly into cash for the organisation. Not only does this raise vital income, it’s also a green alternative, giving your pre-loved items a second lease of life.”