Instagram success for charity shops
Hospice Waikato marketing and fundraising manager Rachael Bish’s decision to mix social media, charity and fashion has led to increased engagement with millennials.
Rachael, who has been working for Hospice Waikato for two years, started the Instagram page @hospiceshopwaikato 18 months ago with a clear idea of what she wanted to achieve.
“The biggest thing for me was reaching those younger people that we can’t any other way. Younger people—more and more so now—are looking for that piece of clothing that has a story or history. It’s not going to cost the planet or their bank accounts. It’s more ethical and unique.”
Every Friday, Rachael uploads photos taken by Claudelands store volunteer Stella Neems, who models outfits she has put together from that week’s donations.
“She will pick up some garments from the Claudelands store, photograph them, bring them out and release them at a certain time. It’s gone really well because she’s young and she’s into that sort of style.
“A lot of people are waiting for that post on a Friday now, which is really cool to see,”
The content isn’t just confined to clothing; earthenware crockery, mid-century modern furniture and obscure book titles feature often on their feed – a decor theme not dissimilar to many trendy Hamiltonian cafes.
She has been pleasantly surprised with the level of engagement and feedback from locals, who often tag them or send their own photos of their finds.
Rachael says it is interesting to see what some shoppers have done with their Hospice store purchases: a fresh coat of paint reincarnates a wrought-iron chair, while five glass decanters have been transformed into a light fixture.
Each of the nine Waikato stores has its own “persona”, the store in Cambridge gets more designer clothing, while the Matamata shop predominantly receives furniture.
Winter is the hardest month, she said, because coats and jackets to combat the colder weather don’t get donated as often as summer clothing.
Rachael said she did not know whether the Netflix phenomenon of Marie Kondo had influenced donations but that they had skyrocketed over the holiday period.
“This year, we had to physically say to people that we cannot accept any more donations. We had to hire a container that has become a permanent fixture at Lake Road now. It’s just full of stuff. We’ve just run out of room because we’ve only got a certain number of people that volunteer that can only go through a certain amount of stock each day. Every single item needs to be checked over.”
She admitted that before working for Hospice Waikato, she didn’t typically buy second-hand but that running the Instagram page has helped change how she sees op-shopping.
“Fashion comes around – just because it’s old to somebody, doesn’t mean it’s old to somebody else.”
Hospice Waikato is holding its annual fundraising event Fashion Over a Teacup in the Cambridge Town Hall on March 31, where volunteers will walk down a catwalk in outfits made up of second-hand donations to an audience of over 180 people.
Tickets for Fashion Over a Teacup are available from Hospice Waikato or Cambridge Paper Plus.
