Samantha Bond opens new Shooting Star shop in Twickenham (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Samantha Bond opens new Shooting Star shop in Twickenham

2:14pm Wednesday 1st July 2009 in

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By Community Correspondent Richard Sharp.

‘Miss Moneypenny’ Samantha Bond completed a very important mission when she cut the ribbon to officially open the new shop in Heath Road, Twickenham on Friday 6th June.

The official opening ceremony attracted a large crowd of curious shoppers, keen to be the first to grab a bargain when the doors opened. The new shop contains a fantastic range of quality clothes, including designer and high street labels, books and non-electrical household items.“I am proud to be associated with Shooting Star and I am delighted that they have been able to open another shop,” said Samantha. “It is a beautifully designed space which I hope will attract the fresh support which so much needs from its heartland community.”The Twickenham shop’s team of ten volunteers have been busily sorting the generous donations for display and sale.

Val Hall, Shooting Star's Senior Retail Coordinator said, “We have been amazed at the wonderful goods from local residents. We’ve even been given an organ, which is now an on sale for £200! But we always need more volunteers to join our shop teams. It’s a great way to make a real difference, meet and make new friends and have a lot of fun into the bargain”.

The Twickenham shop is the charity’s sixth shop to be opened, with the other shops located in Ashford, Hampton Hill, Shepperton, Teddington and Whitton.

The Shooting Star Children’s Hospice provides care, support and advice for children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their families, free of charge, 365 days a year. It costs £3 million every year (£8,000 a day) to maintain the care services offered by Shooting Star, and with no long-term statutory funding, the majority of this comes from voluntary donations, of which the shops play an integral role.

Kim Darton, Director of Fundraising and Marketing said: ‘Twickenham marks our first shop opening in two years and we are delighted to be in such a busy location in the heart of Twickenham. The local community has already given us tremendous support – a number of local traders assisted us with the refurbishment, and we’re extremely grateful for that as it has helped keep costs as low as possible. Kim is hopeful that the local community will support the new shop in a variety of ways. ‘We depend on a real team effort and great generosity from the community to make our shops a success,’ said Kim. ‘Just as we need sales, we also need donations of items from the public as well as volunteers to work in the shop.’ For more information on becoming part of Shooting Star's fantastic team of shop volunteers, please contact Vernon Watts on 020 8481 8190.