Celebrity charity store Oxfam celebrates diamond anniversary

31 May '08

3 min read

Oxfam calls for diamond donations and new volunteers to celebrate 60 years of its charity shops

Oxfam celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of its shops by calling for donations of jewellery and more 'diamond' volunteers.

Oxfam changed the face of the British high street when we opened the country's first charity shop in 1948. Six decades on, our network of 730 shops, staffed by more than 20,000 volunteers has raised more than £500 million pounds for our work fighting poverty around the world.

Oxfam shop founder Joe Mitty led the way by selling extraordinary contributions ranging from a live donkey to a houseboat and it was his entrepreneurial plan to ask the public for diamonds to celebrate the Oxfam shops diamond anniversary.

Today Oxfam continues to innovate and has opened the first ever online charity shop (www.oxfam.org.uk/shop), a series of fashion boutiques, over 120 bookshops, music shops & regularly sells high value items - from first edition books and vintage cars to precious jewels - at auction.

Donations of unwanted jewellery will help Oxfam celebrate its 60th anniversary with sparkle, raising money for the people who need help the most.

Joe Mitty, who died last year, also recognised that Oxfam's real diamonds are its volunteers, and as part of Volunteers' Week (1st - 7th June) Oxfam is also calling for more people to donate their time and join the thousands helping us to tackle global poverty.

As a celebration of Joe's life the first Joe Mitty Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit is to be awarded to Joan Travers a volunteer at the High Street Kensington Oxfam shop. Joan has raised thousands of pounds for Oxfam by creating new pieces of jewellery from broken items donated to the shop.

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