April 2026
Back in April 2022, during the early weeks of the war in Ukraine, an enterprising Bridport group started to collect clothing to send out to people in need in the newly occupied country.
As the war progressed, some of the refugees accepted into the UK came to West Dorset, so emphasis was shifted to helping them settle here. In May 2022, Bridport Clothes Bank (BCB) came into being, run by a steering group and coordinated by Jan Thorne. Its aim was to offer free clothing not just to the refugees but to anyone in the local community, helping people’s financial situation and their mental wellbeing.
At first BCB used a unit in Beaminster, thanks to the generosity of Palmers Brewery. Then the group rented premises in St Michael’s Trading Estate in Bridport, kitted out courtesy of the town’s Round Table. The operation grew, and in 2025 BCB moved into a 500 sq ft unit at the Bridport Youth and Community Centre, where the manager and trustees were hugely supportive in helping them turn what was a dark and dirty former car workshop into a bright, airy space where volunteers can sort, pack and store clothing.
The move to bigger premises could not have come at a better time as the amount of clothing being donated and given out has increased dramatically. As well as clothes, BCB also accepts bedding and towels (providing they are clean and of good quality) and some smaller household items such as pots, pans and cutlery.
BCB has an active fundraising team, raising money selling clothing at stalls in Bucky Doo Square and fetes to pay the rent and keep the organisation running, and to buy new underwear to give out alongside the donated clothing.
Dozens of extremely motivated volunteers help everything run smoothly; there are sorters, packers and drivers working hard behind the scenes and others manning the distribution points. These are:
• at St Swithun’s Church Hall on Thursdays 9.30–10.30am;
• at Bridport Youth & Community Centre (BYCC), Gundry Lane on the first Saturday each month 12–12.45pm; and
• at Prout Bridge Community Centre, Beaminster on the second and fourth Mondays each month, 10am–noon.
At the distribution sessions, BCB volunteers ask people what they are looking for, and some touching stories have emerged showing how much appreciated the BCB service has been. It is very fulfilling to see the gratitude on the faces of people who are finding even charity shop prices a test of their budget.
If you know someone in that category, please tell them about BCB. This organisation is a wonderful example of a community operation doing exactly what it should be doing – working together to support each other.
BCB accepts donations at all of its distribution points as well as during opening hours at Bridport Leisure Centre and the Mountfield council offices.
Email: BridportCB@outlook.com
Tel: 07596 077385 (please text or leave a message)
Facebook: Bridport ClothesBank
Article and photo by John Coley