Help! Hospiscare Needs Your Stamps, Coins And Postcards

Stamps. Foreign coins. Postcards. All may seem worthless at first sight. But they can in fact be invaluable sources of fundraising.

Consider the case of former policeman Tony Coop who has been volunteering for over 23 years raising over £260,000 his local hospice, Hospiscare, by collecting just these very things.

Tony’s heartwarming story demonstrates how collecting stamps, coins and postcards can help Hospiscare. It begins, as is so often the case with a personal story of kindness from the charity:

“It goes back to 1992/3 when Jill’s mum had cancer we had two Hospiscare nurses and they both used to come and check on her and bring chocolates and flowers. They were fantastic, and she loved them. When she died Jill said we need to put something back into the hospice”.
Then, Tony had a beautifully simple idea," he said.

“We were looking at how we could raise money and I thought of stamps. I thought we may raise a few hundred pounds. So I wrote to 200 companies in the city to see if they would send us their used stamps and 162 responded with a yes! Within 6 months I had sacks of the stuff.”

Tony’s collection saw him through some tough times: “Due to my health I had to retire from the police force as I could hardly move and was in constant pain, and thank God for the stamp appeal as it kept me going.”

Despite his huge success, lately things have been difficult. “Last year the Post Office printed 20,000 million stamps more than the year before – so they are out there they are just not coming to me,” he says.

“I used to have a shed full of stamps, but it has certainly dropped off and would love everyone to help me raise more vital funds for Hospiscare by collecting their old stamps and taking them to the Hospice or a local Hospiscare shop and they will find their way to me”.

If you want to be like Tony and help us to raise much needed funds by collecting stamps, then you can get in touch for a poster to put up in your workplace, school or club by calling Hospiscare on 01392 688020.