It saddens us to share the news that our Ripon shop was broken into overnight on Monday 14 April.

Staff and volunteers arrived at the North Street based shop on Tuesday 15 to find the shop front to be vandalised and the inside of the store raided.

Our team estimate the Ripon shop will be closed for at least two days whilst essential repairs take place. Costs from repair bills and loss of takings from the closure of the store are estimated to be at least £5,000. This figure equates to two days of nursing costs for the Saint Michael’s Inpatient Unit.

Maria Corbin, who volunteers in the Ripon shop every Tuesday morning has first-hand experience of the exceptional care provided at Saint Michael’s Hospice after her husband, Tony was cared for at the hospice and died following a short battle with cancer in August 2023.

Maria describes her reaction to the break-in as being ‘absolutely appalled’ and she is determined to help the Ripon shop to recoup vital costs, even pledging money herself to help with additional security measures. Maria said:

“It's devastating that a shop that helps provide that care for families has been broken in to. When Tony died, we created a tribute page for him and raised £4,000 for Saint Michael’s and I will happily donate again to help the Ripon shop.

“What people don’t understand is that care at the hospice is free at the point of need, and with inadequate government funding, it’s the generosity of the community and charity shops like Ripon that help provide vital income.

“We haven't been able to take any money today because obviously the shop is shut. We can't open until the police have been either, so we've lost revenue today, and we need to make that revenue up one way or another.

“If people can kindly donate cash or items to the shop, then we won't have lost out. And if we don't lose out as a shop, then the people who need help in the community and at the hospice won’t lose out either. It’s so sad that this has happened. I can’t believe anyone would be so cruel as to target a charity shop.”