£280 and rising: why your gift matters

When SHAX quotes £280 or more for a full Emergency Home Starter Pack, that is not a fundraising gimmick. It is what kettles, bedding sets, hygiene bundles, and cookware cost when you buy them ready to go out the door—not when you hope donated odds and ends will magically match every referral.

In 2025/26 the charity supported 487 individuals, including 132 children, with starter packs and related help. Each referral is a household trying to land on their feet, often in the same week the keys change hands.

Shop and warehouse sales in Dumfries help. Volunteers prepare furniture and homeware for reuse, and good items sold on the shop floor feed back into the charity’s ability to stock packs. But shop income alone does not cover every spike in referrals—especially when housing moves cluster at month-end or after cold weather.

That is where local giving matters. A phone gift with Gift Aid, a business sponsoring a named pack, or a regular donor asking SHAX to ring them quarterly—all of it stays in Dumfries & Galloway and shows up as assembled stock, not a delayed grant from elsewhere.

Transparency is part of trust. If you want to know how giving is used, ask when you call. Fundraising staff can explain sponsorship tiers, impact examples, and how to visit Merrick House if you want to see reuse and packing in person.

Give by phone or visit · Sponsor as a business · How reuse helps fund packs