Charity postbox creation “not logistically possible”

Wednesday 23 November 2022

It would not be “logistically possible” to convert unused postboxes into charity collection points, according to Jersey Post.

A recent reader letter to the Bailiwick Express put forward the novel idea of using disused post boxes as ways to raise money for charity.

John Morgan’s postbox proposal proved popular among readers – and a snap poll of 331 islanders saw just under 70% (228) vote in favour.

Many commenters on social media also commented that the idea had been successfully tried before.

In 2013, a disused post box was handed over to Caring Hands, a local charity that runs men’s refuges. The charity then used the box as a charity collection point, with a description of the charity preplacing the box’s collection time sign. 

A solution was even found in the case of confusion as to the post box's purposes. The late Colin Taylor, the founder of Caring Hands, promised at the time that if anyone posted an item by mistake, the charity would pass it on to Jersey Post. 

However, while the Jersey Post team said they “fully appreciate the sentiment and think this is a wonderful idea”, they told Express that they did not think it would be “logistically possible” to convert postboxes again.

Pictured: Colin Taylor, founder of Caring Hands, used a post box as a charity collection point in 2013. (Tony Pike/JEP)

“Operationally, we would have to remap our delivery routes to cover the collections across the 43 post boxes that are closed, which would negatively impact our current mail services around the island,” a spokesperson explained.

“The post boxes have been also sealed and cannot accept any postings. Currently we must maintain the front façade of the disused post boxes for Jersey Heritage, however, this also means we are unable to visibly alter the post boxes enough to avoid confusion for customers over which post boxes can accept charity donations and which ones must be used for mail.”

While Jersey Post said it was unable to support this specific charitable initiative, it nonetheless pointed out that it is keen to support charitable causes.

“At Jersey Post, we strive to work with the community and charities around the Island and will also endeavour to help when possible. We currently support a Chosen Charity of the year each year which we fundraise for across the business, we also allocate discounted postal services to a number of charities each year and donate all used stamps to charity, as well as offering our van advertising free of charge to several charities.”