New IRHH shop in Tring
IRHH Patron Geoffrey Palmer officially opened the new IRHH shop in Tring on Friday 28th November. The Mayor of Tring, Cllr Mike James, and MP for South West Herts , David Gauke, also attended the opening at 16 High Street .
IRHH first opened a shop in Tring in 1992, with the help of a very generous local landlord, and the new shop is almost directly opposite the original premises. Tring resident Peggy Bainbridge used to run a regular stall in Tring market on behalf of IRHH, and Peggy persuaded the charity's then Chief Executive, Rowena Dean, to turn the stall into the first Iain Rennie shop.
Peggy explained: "Rowena and I could see the potential for Iain Rennie having its own shop in Tring, and its incredible to see how my little market stall has grown into a chain of 9 shops for the charity across the Chilterns".
Over the years IRHH has benefited from the help and advice of local experts John Bly and Stephen Hearn, and under the management of Sarah Ferri and later Marian Hendin the Tring shop has gone from strength to strength. It is well known in the town as the best place to look for that special outfit, quirky piece of kitchen equipment or other household gem! The shop is affectionately known as "The Harrods of Tring", and each year the shop generates over £165,000 towards the Iain Rennie nursing service. Like any business, however, the charity does have to pay commercial rent and other overheads in order to run our shops.
IRHH Retail & Trading Manager, Lesley Blencowe, commented: "We are very proud of our shop in Tring as it was the first to open, and we know that our loyal customers will find the same satisfaction in our new premises over the road. The staff and volunteers who work in the shop have done an amazing job over the last 16 years, and we look forward to welcoming lots of new customers through the door of the new shop."
Lesley continued: "We would like to acknowledge the huge amount of help we have received from a large team of volunteers who have been involved in refurbishing the shop and preparing it for opening. Special thanks go to Blair Electrical of Tring for their generous help with the electrical works, and to other local businesses who have supported us. Our Tring shop is one of our busiest and is staffed by a fantastic team of volunteers. We are always looking for more volunteers and if you feel that you would like to join us and help raise funds for a popular local charity we would love to hear from you. Please call in to the shop or call Marian or Nikki on 01442 891006 for a chat."
Rozina Ahmad, IRHH Voluntary Services Manager, added: "Volunteering is a great way to meet people, make new friends, learn new skills and have fun! It is also a good opportunity to join the Iain Rennie team and help a local charity. We are extremely fortunate to have dedicated volunteers helping us run our shops and we simply could not manage without them. If you can spare any time, however little, please do call into the shop and speak to the shop manager."
3rd December 2008
