On Wednesday 8th September Marks & Spencer is calling on its customers to clear out their wardrobes and help raise £1 million for Oxfam

As part of the ongoing M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange, for one day only, M&S customers will be able to donate their unwanted clothing to Oxfam in M&S stores, in return for a £5 voucher.

The One Day Wardrobe Clear-out is on Wednesday 8th September. Shoppers will be able to donate to special Donation Stations in Salisbury M&S store where they will also have the chance to meet some of our lovely Salisbury Oxfam volunteers too!

All the clothing will be donated to Oxfam, which could help Oxfam raise over £1 million in sales if M&S hits its target of collecting hundreds and thousands of items.

And if you can’t make the one-day clearout, you can still take your unwanted clothing to your nearest Oxfam shop and receive a £5 voucher thanks to the M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange.

(Check out the terms and conditions here if you would like further information.)

We’re delighted to announce this month’s Oxhibition: Inspired by Nature by artist Suzie Gutteridge.

The exhibition will run from 2nd September until the 24th, as usual open Monday to Saturday 10am-4pm.

In addition, there will be a Meet the Artist event on Saturday 4th September when you are warmly invited to meet Suzie and discuss her work with her between 11am and 2pm. Just drop in if you can!

As hinted at by the title, Suzie’s work is created having been inspired by objects and surroundings around her.

Showing a range of materials and techniques including her renowned recycled paperwork and growing repertoire of ceramics, the exhibition will also include new ceramics, pastels and prints.

Visit this unique, fresh, enlightening and engaging exhibition from 2 – 24 September, open Monday – Saturday 10-4pm and meet Suzie at the gallery on Sat 4 Sept 11am – 1pm.

Northern Pakistan has been affected by the worst floods in living memory – according to the UN over 3 million people have been affected.

Oxfam is there
In the Punjab, we have been helping evacuate people affected by the floods to camps where we are carrying out hygiene promotion and distributing health and hygiene kits. We are also repairing hand pumps and toilets in the camps.

In Sindh, we have been working with the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum to help evacuate people from Kashmore, Qamber Shahdad Kot and Jamshoro districts. In Daddu district we’ve installed eight ‘de-watering’ machines with our local partner SAFCWO to clean out contaminated wells.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa we are carrying out water tankering and repairing damaged water supplies. We are also providing families with water purification tablets and carrying out assessments on impact of the floods on people’s livelihoods.

Find out more at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/emergencies/pakistan-floods2010.html

With your help we can save lives:
£12 will buy one family hygiene kit
(including soap, washing powder, sanitary cloths and towels, oral rehydration salts and nail cutter/comb)

£14 will buy one family household kit
(including a plastic bucket, water cooler, floor mats, waste bin, shawls and water purification tablets)

£46 will buy tools for clearing up
(including a shovel, pick axe, bucket, broom and wheel barrow)

What can I do?
Give – Donate to the Pakistan Flooding DEC appeal either online at https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/pakistan-floods/index.php, by ringing 0300 200 1300, or in any Salisbury Oxfam shop.

Displacement is a dynamic, collaborative art exhibition which will be held in the Oxhibitions Gallery above Salisbury Oxfam Books and Music, 10 Catherine Street, Salisbury. The gallery is open 10am-4pm each day from Monday to Saturday.

The show, by four emerging artists, runs from 5th – 27th August 2010 and aims to challenge established notions of contemporary art. Featured works includes photography that exists in ‘a permanent state of development’, paintings that are torn between 2D wall hangings and 3D sculptures and objects that are in conflict between function versus aesthetic.

Four artists are involved in this group exhibition; Martin Billingham, Richard Eveleigh, Zoe Snelson and Sarah Sanger. Each artist has a different specialism ranging from painting to installation. This contributes to the overall theme of the exhibition as does the Oxfam Gallery venue itself. The gallery is something of an unexpected contradiction i.e.: a space filled with character that generates funds for the charity whilst allowing considerable artistic freedom.

‘The Oxfam art team are delighted to welcome Richard back for his third exhibition with us. We are looking forward to seeing the inspiring work that his colleagues will contribute to this show.’ Chris Watts, Gallery Administrator.

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Oxhibitions Gallery is open Monday to Saturday, 10am – 4pm, above Salisbury Oxfam Bookshop at 10, Catherine Street.

Commission from sales will be going towards Oxfam’s work overseas to end poverty and suffering.

For more information regarding this Exhibition, please contact Salisbury Oxfam Art Team on 01722 337187 or by emailing art@salisburyoxfam.org.uk

You might have noticed some of the new features around the site, allowing you to share any story with you friends on Facebook by Liking it and letting you comment on stories here by logging in with Facebook, among others. This is all part of our process of joining Facebook as a new way to allow our supporters, shoppers and donators to communicate with us and so we can join in with the Facebook community and collaborate on projects such as Oxjam which work fantastically through social media.

However to get the full benefits of this for you and us we’d love people to Like our new Facebook page which you can find over at http://facebook.com/salisburyoxfam. We’re planning to share photos of our current exhibitions there, create shop events so you can let us know you’re coming and more over time as we work out the many great things we can do with it.

We’ve already been on Twitter for around a year now, amassing a sizable following, and have really enjoyed taking part in that community of Salisbury residents, Salisbury businesses, other Oxfam shops and of course the wider world! We think this will complement that excellently, so don’t worry if you’re already a follower or fancy coming and joining in: we certainly won’t be moving from @salisburyoxfam anytime soon!