Our Depop Shop: FAQs
We recently launched a Depop Store where we are selling clothes to raise funds to buy essential items. We’ve put together some answers to questions about how it all works.
Take a look and don’t forget to check out our store page!
How are you supporting people at the moment?
People often come to us with nothing or very little, whether because they have been rough sleeping or have had to leave somewhere quickly. They often have a need for food, clothing and toiletries.
How do you provide clothes at the moment?
We receive lots of generous donations from the public that all goes into our Pop-Up shop where clients can take items they want and like for free.
However, this isn’t perfect and we’ve noticed some issues.
What are the problems?
We have noticed a few issues that we’d like to try and address:
- We find some essentials, like underwear, are rarely donated and we want to give them out new
- Some of the clothes in our pop-up shop were still on the rails after a few months
- We often have people asking for things we don’t have in their size or don’t have at all
- We get an excess of women’s clothing donated, when 75% of our clients last year were male
- We help a diverse range of people, young and old, different shapes and sizes, style and taste
- We don’t always have clothing suitable for people with disabilities
- Our largest hostel can house up to 35 people, and as we move people into their own homes it often looks completely different every three months. That needs a lot of clothes!
- We don’t want to waste perfectly good clothes, and we want to make the most out of your donations.
- We don’t have the storage space or capacity to hold the level of clothing to meet everyone’s needs
How are you going to address these problems?
We want to try selling some of these clothes on Depop.
The money we raise from each items will go into a fund that our support staff can access to buy essentials for the people they are supporting. We believe this will help us meet people’s needs better.
It also ensures that donations we receive from the public have even more chance to making a real difference to someone’s life.
Is buying one item really enough to help?
Yes! For example, we can get a 7-pack of mens underwear for £15, and women’s set and bra for a similar price.
Buying one item on our Depop could raise enough to make a difference to one person. Giving them new essentials, with benefits to their physical and mental health.
Will all the money go towards helping people in this way?
The clothing fund with be restricted which means we won’t be able to spend it on anything else.
We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and guarantee that 100% of the money you raise for Action Homeless is spent directly on supporting people affected by homelessness in Leicester and Leicestershire.
This all sound great! How do I get involved?
- Head to our Depop page to see if anything catches your eye
- Follow us on Instagram for highlights and looks
- Donate your clothing and help make a difference