The Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) said it was a ‘tough decision’ for them to close their charity shop in Letterkenny.
A spokesperson for the organisation was responding to an early Donegal Daily article about the closure at the end of this month of their Pearse Road outlet.
A ‘clearance sale’ began at the shop last week and it is no longer taking donations.
Donegal Daily understands that four people are currently employed there, as well as two TUS scheme workers and five volunteers. All staff and volunteers have been informed of the closure.
The National Board of the organisation is to shut eight of its fourteen retail shops around the country as a result of what they describe as ‘many external challenges’ facing the retail sector.
These included increased running costs, fewer volunteer numbers and falling revenues which made some shops becoming financially unviable.
“As a result of these challenges, the difficult decision was made to close eight of our 14 shops,” an IWA spokesperson said.
“The Letterkenny shop is one of the eight shops due for closure by the end of the month. We would like to emphasise that this was a tough decision for IWA’s senior management team and board but one we believe is responsible given the financial situation of the retail stores and the mission of our organisation. We are committed to providing services and programmes for people with disabilities in their communities.”
The spokesperson added that the welfare of those impacted by these decisions is of the ‘utmost importance’ to them and they are committed to supporting their employees and volunteers.
“We are working with those affected to ensure they get all the support they need, including exploring alternative roles within the organisation,” they added.
“IWA’s Board and senior management team would like to sincerely thank those employees and volunteers for their hard work and dedication.”
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