Smart Works Birmingham has opened the doors of its very first pop-up shop to the public.
Hammerson Plc have gifted use of a unit on Link Street between Bullring and Grand Central to the charity to help support their vital work of empowering unemployed women ahead of their interview.
The team were delighted by the response from the public and raised £900 in two hours. The shop is open between 10am until 6pm; the last day of trading is Wednesday 16th April.
All the clothes and shoes have been donated to the charity by retailers such as Rixo, Whistles, Pink City Prints, Aligne. There are bargains to be had from designer and high street brands. This means 100% of the proceeds can go towards supporting women to get into employment. Smart Works Birmingham supported 720 women this year and 72% got a job within one month.
Lilly Clements, Fundraising & Partnerships Manager at Smart Works Birmingham said: “Having this public presence is fantastic, we not only aim to raise vital funding needed but we want to raise awareness. I spoke to a customer who admitted she was currently unemployed and didn’t know where to turn. I asked if she was in touch with a job centre and she was. I encouraged her to ask her job coach about Smart Works and that they would get in touch with us on her behalf.”
Charlotte Neighbour, Nottingham University Fashion Student volunteering for Smart Works Birmingham said: “There are so many lovely clothes with some incredible brands I’ve not heard about before. The shop looks very trendy, I think it would appeal to everyone – there is such a range of clothing.”