A Conversation with ellenor’s Furniture Distribution Manager Hannah Cooper

Hannah, 35, has been working at ellenor for 16 years. After starting out as a Sales Assistant at Special Treats – a small charity shop ellenor maintains in Dartford’s Darent Valley Hospital – Hannah soon progressed to the role of Furniture Coordinator. Now, based at ellenor’s shop in Dartford’s The Priory Centre, Hannah’s role as Furniture Distribution Manager means she has an integral part to play in maximising the income of ellenor’s charity shops – which all goes to funding the hospice charity’s care.

For Hannah, working for ellenor is all the more meaningful because, as a child, she was one of those loved ones. When Hannah’s granddad was diagnosed with aggressive bowel cancer, ellenor not only cared for him for the last three months of his life, but provided counselling for the bereaved Cooper family as they grieved his loss.

Even before then, Hannah’s connection to ellenor ran deep. As a young girl, she remembers hearing stories from her gran - who was a nurse at ellenor - about life at the hospice. Now, as an adult, Hannah’s role may be different from her gran’s, but it’s no less impactful. Day to day, Hannah is responsible for running ellenor’s furniture line, coordinating deliveries and collections from local homes, organizing shop-to-shop transfers, and managing the hospice’s drivers and vans

As for the furniture – anything from sandalwood suites and teak side tables to fridges, freezers, and televisions – ellenor’s stock mainly comes as donations from local homes. Sometimes, Hannah explains, these arrive as individual items dropped off in-store; other times, devoted patrons bequeath whole homes (and even entire estates) to ellenor. Whatever way these items arrive, one thing never changes – in an ellenor shop, there’s never a shortage of unique gems to be unearthed.

Also key to Hannah’s role – and crucial for ensuring ellenor is able to maximise the income on the items it sells to fund its care for life-limited patients – is what she refers to as ‘giving’: the process of supplying certain low-stocked shops with donated items from other ellenor shops. Hannah also coordinates what she calls ‘feeding’: that is, topping up ellenor’s four furniture shops (Dartford Priory, Crayford, Bexley, and Blackfen) with donated furniture, clothing, and bric-a-brac from its warehouse.

Along with Special Treats and the four furniture shops above, ellenor has another five charity shops – based in Dartford High Street, Gravesend King Street, Northfleet, Swanscombe, and Welling – as well as three more on the way. The first of those, in Swanley, is coming soon: so watch this space!

Hannah remembers, for example, the three-piece furniture set which sold for £800; and the colossal, intricate train set that went for £2,500. Another young man, who was under ellenor’s care before tragically passing away, donated his whole set of DJ equipment. After a few initial issues – namely, that there wasn’t enough room in the shop to house the enormous stereo setup – it sold for almost £1,000.

“10 years ago, our customers were mainly older people,” says Hannah. “But now the demographic is a real mix; and we’re getting a lot of younger people looking for reliable furniture at an affordable price.”

For the uninitiated, it’s easy to think of local charity shops simply as places to have a rummage around some interesting-looking stuff, and potentially grab a bargain. But to limit them to that would be to ignore the vital role these shops play in the ecosystem of their local community – and in supporting nearby families going through the most challenging period of their lives.

ellenor has, for example, teamed up with Gravesham Council in an initiative aimed at giving in-need portions of the local community a fresh start. Essentially, Hannah and her colleagues at ellenor’s shops receive referrals from the council for people (many of whom have come out of refuge or homelessness), who need essential items such as sofas, beds, and white goods. Hannah and her team then handpick the goods and arrange for them to be delivered to the homes of the people they’re intended for.

It’s clear that, amid the backdrop of changing high street commerce, the role of the charity shop will continue to evolve and expand. It’s also evident that, with its ethos of community, climate-friendliness, and camaraderie resonating with an increasingly price-conscious, sustainability-minded demographic of consumers, the charity shop isn’t going anywhere.

For her part, Hannah will continue to be there for local families facing life-limiting illness by continuing to hit – and, most weeks, comfortably surpass – her retail targets, and ensure that ellenor’s shops are able to have a tangible, positive influence on the care the hospice is able to provide to local patients.

Patients like, many years ago, her granddad. “ellenor has a piece of my heart,” Hannah says. “I can truly say that. Our role is a behind-the-scenes one, but that’s alright – I don’t like to be in the spotlight! But a lot of love goes into what we do in raising money for ellenor. And, when I lock up the shop and head home for that evening, that’s what satisfies me – knowing I’ve helped ellenor to make a difference. So please, keep donating to us. It means so much.”