Salvation Army wins Outstanding Charity Retailer Award

Salvation Army charity shops have been awarded the Charity Retail Association’s Outstanding Charity Retailer of the Year Award.

The award was presented to Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL) which operates over 230 high street charity shops and new-concept donation centre+ stores on behalf of the parent charity.

The Award was announced at a special ceremony on 24 January 2023 which was rearranged following the postponement of the event in September due to the death of HRH Queen Elizabeth.

SATCoL’s positive social and environmental impact on local communities played a big part in why SATCoL won the top prize.

Initiatives introduced by the company include a bespoke eLearning platform, The Learning Booth, which provides free training for volunteer colleagues as well as members of staff. Other highlights include SATCoL’s investments in Fibresort, the only technology of its kind in the UK to sort non-wearable textiles for recycling, and its donation centre+ stores, of which it aims to open 20 across the UK this year.

Trevor Caffull, Managing Director, attended the awards ceremony and said:

“Without our donors, customers and colleagues, especially our army of volunteers, we could not directly help those in need and raise funds for the important work of our charity who support the most vulnerable in our society. It’s important for us to make sure our colleagues feel valued, rewarded and supported as much as we can.”

The company has also invested heavily in Mental Health training for managers, and supported its 1,000 paid colleagues and over 3,500 volunteer colleagues as much as possible coming out of Covid and as cost-of-living pressures continue. Since April 2021, SATCoL also surpassed all previous retail trading records month-after-month.