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!

There’s been coverage on BBC News and a press release from Oxfam today reporting that Oxfam shops across the country are suffering a 15% drop in donations due to the recession. In Salisbury too, we have seen donations go down, which is a shame because during a recession is a time when Oxfam’s UK Poverty Programme, in particular, needs even more support than usual and without high quality donations our shops’ sales are bound to fall too even with demand remaining strong.

However, we think that people still have some things stored away at home that they are happy to donate to Oxfam but just haven’t quite made it to our shops yet. This is the time we really need you! Help us keep our stock levels high, our shoppers happy and those Oxfam helps from losing out on the support they need.

Many are now suggesting that we are heading towards the end of the recession, our Trading Director, David McCulloch said:

“This is a crucial moment for us. Over the last eighteen months, people have been buying less, replacing less and therefore donating less to Oxfam. Now sales are apparently on the increase, we can only wait to see if this is reflected by an increase in donations to our shops.”

We can only hope that this is correct, but in the mean time if you do have something you’ve been meaning to donate we’d love to see you, especially sooner rather than later:

“We rely on the generosity of the public for their stock. Without continued donations of everything from clothing to cookware, Oxfam shops could not continue to play such a key role in communities across the UK.”

For the shoppers out there, don’t worry, our shops are currently still well stocked with great bargains and we’re never short of fantastic ethical goods, scrumptious Fairtrade Food and our Oxhibitions Art Gallery will of course continue its monthly exhibitions raising money for Oxfam. We hope you’ll come and visit!

The Arctic Monkeys’ new 7″ single “Crying Lightning” is being released through Oxfam shops including Salisbury Oxfam, with proceeds going to help Oxfam’s work to end poverty and suffering.

The ‘Crying Lightning’ 7″ features a cover of the Nick Cave classic “Red Right Hand” as a B-side. Each single will cost £2.99 pounds and come with a download code to get an MP3 version of the songs for free.

While picking up a copy, why not bring in any older CDs or Videos that you don’t want anymore for Oxfam to sell to raise more money.

See more information about what’s on the single here.

What can I do?
Shopping – Come in and buy the new Arctic Monkeys album from Salisbury Oxfam when it’s released on August 17th.
Fundraising – Donate any unwanted items to Oxfam when you come in to drop pick up your copy.

Image with thanks to Lola’s Big Adventure! – released under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 – see here for further information.

Salisbury Oxfam is having an ‘Africa Week’ to help raise funds for the Kilimanjaro Charity Climb in July 2010 by Shaula Maitland and Sophie Tadhunter. Mount Kilimanjaro stands at a mighty 19,330 ft, making it the highest point in Africa. Shaula and Sophie aim to raise £5000. through local fundraising events and sponsorship. All the money raised for Oxfam will be used in Ethiopia to aid:

• Access to education for all Children
• Improvement of basic health care
• HIV/AIDS awareness
• Access to water
• Reducing violence towards women
• Sustainable farming

The ‘Africa Week’ will run from Saturday 25th July – Friday 31st July 2009.

There will be events running throughout the week including:

• Saturday 25th July – African Drummers performing in the main shop throughout the day, Fairtrade Food tasting in the Art Gallery (Oxhibitions), Local artist Rod Hague will be having an Art Workshop in the Art Gallery to run alongside his current exhibition ‘African Afternoon’
• Wednesday 29th July – Rita’s African Art Workshop for Children. To sign up for this visit the Oxfam shop where further details will be available.
• Friday 31st July – A talk by Mary Malpas, an Oxfam employee, on Oxfam in Africa, in the Art Gallery at 11.30am.

For further information please contact the Media Team on 01722 337187 or email media@salisburyoxfam.org.uk

What can I do?

• Come along to the many events we are having!
• Let your friends know! You can even download and display a poster from here.

Oxfam’s Tag Your Bag Gift Aid scheme is now active in both Salisbury Oxfam shops! This is an exciting new scheme that allows Oxfam to make an extra 28p in the £1 for items we sell that were donated through the scheme by claiming back the tax from the government through the Gift Aid process.

There are 3 easy steps to start giving:

1. Complete a simple form to join the scheme. This gives your permission and confirms that you are a UK tax-payer. We’ll then give you some personalised ‘Tag your Bag’ stickers.
2. Every time you bring things into an Oxfam shop, tag each bag with one of your stickers. This allows us to track how much we raise from the sale of your items.
3. Feel good about giving 28% more to Oxfam’s work!

It’s that easy. And it won’t cost you a penny.

What is Gift Aid?

Gift Aid is a scheme introduced by HM Revenue and Customs that allows charities such as Oxfam to reclaim the tax on any cash donated to them from UK tax-payers.

Want more information? Visit this page on the Oxfam GB website.

What can I do?

• Fundraising – If you’re a UK Taxpayer you can join the scheme by completing the form in either Salisbury Oxfam shop.
• Shopping – Come along and grab some great bargains in-store in the knowledge that you might be helping Oxfam even more than you realise, at no extra cost to you!