The Wales Air Ambulance is delighted to announce that it will reopen the doors to its Blackwood charity shop on Monday, October 12.

Due to government guidelines, the shop was forced to close during the coronavirus pandemic in March.

To reopen its doors, the Wales Air Ambulance has taken careful measures to ensure that the safety of the public is paramount.

To keep the public safe in the shop, the Charity has altered the opening hours so that staff and volunteers can deep-clean before and after they open each day.  

The decision to reopen the Blackwood shop, which is located in Market Place, follows the successful reopening of its shops in Swansea, Wrexham, Cardiff and most recently Bangor. 

The store will be open Monday to Friday between 11am and 4pm.  

Following government guidelines, face coverings will be necessary in the Blackwood charity shop, apart from those who have an exemption from wearing them. 

The Charity’s Head of Retail, Andrew Lawton, said: “We are delighted to be able to reopen our Blackwood shop. During the pandemic, Wales Air Ambulance has seen a significant decrease in funds following the closure of charity shops and cancelled events. Our five shops that have reopened are doing extremely well and we hope the Blackwood store will be just as successful. 

“The safety of our staff and customers is of paramount importance to us and we want to reassure our supporters that we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to ensure the store is safe. To allow the shop to continue to stay open, we are asking customers to please stick to the strict guidelines. This is to ensure their safety, as well as the safety of our staff and volunteers. Thank you to all our customers who have been patient whilst waiting for the store to reopen.” 

Customers are asked to maintain social distancing at all times and follow a one-way system. The Charity is also asking customers not to touch anything unless they plan on purchasing the item.  
 
When at the till, customers are asked to stand in the marked box while being served and to use contactless or card payment where possible. There are also hand sanitising stations available for people to maintain their hand hygiene and Perspex screens have been fitted at each till point.

In addition, the Charity has made some changes regarding the donated items they receive, as well as their delivery service. These are as follows:  

Donated Items – Unfortunately, the Blackwood shop can only take a limited number of donated items at this time. This is because of the need to isolate donated goods for a while to avoid potential cross-contamination.  

Deliveries – Unfortunately, the Charity is only able to provide a limited delivery service at this time. 

Any deliveries will be to the curbside only and not into homes. Personal collection from the shop is the preferred option, where possible.  

Collections and deliveries are not possible in areas where there are local lockdown restrictions in place.