­­Have you ever wondered where the items we sell in our Furniture Plus store come from? Drivers Vic and Olly invited us to spend a day with them on the Bolton Hospice furniture collection van, so we can reveal all!

We picked up the van first thing in the morning, and checked out our job sheet for the busy day ahead. The retail team, along with some wonderful volunteers, work hard to arrange home collections a week or two in advance, so whoever’s driving the van each day simply needs to pop the postcode of each collection into their Satnav, then off they go!

By 9am we were en route to our first collection of the day, to pick up a lovely pine dressing table from Horwich. Its owner had recently downsized and she was sad to be saying goodbye to some of her bigger pieces of furniture, but, as an existing supporter of the hospice, was pleased to be able to donate to Furniture Plus.

Collection number 2 saw us head over to Westhoughton, where Wendy had some matching bedside tables to donate. While we were there we signed Wendy up to our retail Gift Aid scheme, meaning we can claim an extra 25% from the Government on top of whatever we sell her donated bedside tables for, at no extra cost to Wendy! When the aim is to raise as much money as possible to help us to continue providing care and support for local people living with life-limiting illnesses, that’s a big win!

After a couple more collections the van was pretty full (and Vic and Olly were ready for a well-deserved cuppa after lots of heavy lifting!) so we drove back to Furniture Plus, off Manchester Road. Within a few minutes of the van being unloaded, the items were being sorted through by more volunteers, and soon in situ in the front of the store.

We had a few more collections to make in the afternoon, between Farnworth and Lostock, including a leather sofa, dining table and chairs, and an almost-brand-new wicker 2-seater and armchair set!

At one collection, Andrea told us that her son and daughter-in-law had furnished their first home entirely from Furniture Plus – “all solid, matching, lovely pieces” – so she wanted to give someone else the opportunity to do the same.

With one final trip back to Manchester Road to unload once again, our van day came to an end, and Furniture Plus received a whole host of brilliant donations. Wendy’s bedside tables, Rob’s sofa, Andrea’s table and chairs, and more, mean that Furniture Plus can continue to provide a sustainable source of income to support the work of the hospice, as well as, of course, giving local people the chance to find some amazing pieces of furniture at amazing prices!