Saucy donation surprises charity shop employees

Thursday 07 June 2018

Charity shop employees sometimes have to sift through bags of donations, often with some interesting finds. But when a bag came vibrating to a shop in St. Helier, no one was expecting to find a sex toy inside it.

The second-hand 'Rampant Rabbit' left employees at the Headway charity shop on New Street shocked, and their story has made it all the way to the Daily Record in Scotland.

As surprising as the saucy donation was, Jeremy Strickland, the manager of the shop, said it wasn't the first time an unusual donation had made its way to the shop.

"It's is surprising what people bring in to us," he told the Daily Record. "They often have an innocent explanation, such as if they're trying to clear out a relative's flat as quickly as possible. "But in some cases we're sure the more interesting items, shall we say, are passed on fairly deliberately."

The team once had to call the police after they found four bottles of medical grade morphine in a bag. 

More recently someone left a nine inch kitchen knife lying in the bottom of a bag of clothes, which caused quite a stir. 

Luckily, Mr Strickland says that 99% of donations the shop receives are "absolutely superb." The donated items are sold in the shop to help raise funds for Headway which supports islanders who have suffered brain injuries as well as their familes.

After making the national news, the story was shared on local Facebook pages. 'Not the Jersey Police' praised "Generous Lovers" and urged users of the page to name someone who would give up "their 'well loved' sex toy to a good cause."

The paper clipping also appeared on the 15,000-strong 'Good or Bad Jersey Businesses' group. Solveig Herbert said Headway wasn't the only charity shop to see surprising items make their way to donations bags. She wrote: "Lots of that sort of thing used to come into the charity shop I worked at... gloves were used!!!" David Linstead shared a photo of what appears to be a glass sex toy which he says he found in a charity shop last year.

But it's not just charity shop where owners try to get rid of their sex toys. Martin O'Neill added that his brother had seen a woman sell a "large pink dildo" at Millbrook Carboot sale for 50p. "Some weirdies out there!!" he added.

Other members of the group jokingly asked where the shop was located and urged their friends to check their donation bags better next time they hand them in. 

Natalie Standen reminded everyone that the donation was probably done in all good faith. "Sharing is caring," she commented on the post.