Peel Charity Shop has gifted £54,100 towards 28 island initiatives at a donations morning last week.

The event took place at Corrin Hall in Peel on November 17, where members of the store’s committee gave a substantial amount of money to the representatives of each charity.

A cheque with the sum of £2,000 was presented to a number of organisations that had previously applied to the committee to gain a donation towards their causes.

The Lions Club received an additional £1,700 donation to cover the costs of a lifting chair. The club had asked for a general donation, but the committee decided to donate the full amount to help them purchase the facility.

Charities which received donations include: Swimsafe, Friends of Robert Owen House, Beach Buddies, Princess Diana Trust, Without Wings, Manx Stroke Foundation, Ramsey Respite Centre, Autism in Man, Anti-Cancer, Friends of Noble’s Hospital, Pets Aid League, Special Olympics, Western Live at Home, Victim Support, Salvation Army, Manx Deaf Society, Arthritis Care Ellan Vannin, Breathe Easy, Care in Mann, St John’s Ambulance, Graih, IOM Alzheimers Society, Peel Coal Fund and Women’s Aid.

Southern Befrienders and the Dreamcatchers Appeal were granted £1,000 and £400 was given to the One World Centre, which will be used to buy a laptop for the organisation’s use.

Margaret Bowden, secretary of the committee at the Peel Charity Shop, was overwhelmed with the public support on the day.

’It was heaving!’ she said. ’We had around 70 people come in and buy things from the stores we had opened in the hall. This of course will go towards charities in the future.

’We have about 40 dedicated volunteers who work shifts or sort out clothes, some of which helped run the stores at the coffee morning,’ she added.

The shop, which is based on Shore Road in Peel, has been running for 15 years.

Margaret said: ’We used to be a branch for Save the Children, but were told that the charity was closing shops in the UK because they didn’t have enough money.

’The committee decided to keep going, but to raise money for Manx charities and a few ones from across,’ she said.

’Since then, we have donated £1 million to charities around the island.

’This is thanks to the people who have either purchased or brought in something for us to sell so we can raise money for local causes.’