Charity launches 5 Star Vinted Shop to Raise Vital Funds

Sheffield based women's charity has launched an online Vinted store to raise money for homeless young women and their children. 

The new digital shop front reflects the changing needs and wants of charity shop consumers and provides another income source direct to Peile House Women’s Hostel. 

The Office of National Statistics data reports an upward trend for internet sales across all forms of retail since records began. Numbers understandably spiked during the pandemic and fell again slightly as highstreets re-opened. But internet sales still account for around 30 percent of total retail purchases (ONS data, 2025), with platforms like Vinted driving growth in the second-hand retail market. 

As demand for ‘quick, easy and accessible’ shopping grows, sustainable retailers, including charity shops, have had to find new ways to keep pace. Since launching YWCA Yorkshire Vinted late last year, the charity has achieved 5-star review status, selling dozens of quality items, and raising much needed funds for homeless young women and their children living at Peile House hostel in Sheffield. 

YWCA Yorkshire opened their current Sheffield based brick-and-mortar store ten years ago.  As well as raising valuable funds, this volunteer-staffed shop, located at 101 Sicey Ave, Firth Park, plays an important role as a community hub. It provides a safe and warm space for local people to build skills and confidence through volunteering, to shop, meet up and talk, and attend annual events. 

Despite the growing popularity of online shopping, the charity shop is considered a vital part of YWCA Yorkshire’s fundraising strategy, offering a destination for customers to experience YWCA Yorkshire's values and connect with the charity's mission, as well as a much-needed physical space for donation deliveries and sorting. 

YWCA Yorkshire Project Administrator and Charity Shop Coordinator, Mandy Bond, said: “Having the online shop has really helped us to get the most out of our donations. Sometimes we are gifted designer clothes, and we can get way more for the charity by selling them online. We also get collectable and high value items - the sorts of things that someone might search for online, but they might not live or shop in Sheffield. The most valuable item we ever sold through Vinted was a vintage Conway Box Camera which made one camera enthusiast very happy!” 

Charity shop volunteers use AI tools to help identify designer brands and high value items and as well as displaying these in the physical shop, items are photographed and featured online. YWCA Yorkshire Volunteer, Kayleigh Wilson, said: “It’s been great having the option to sell stuff online and develop our own digital skills to best lists and promote items.  

“The women we support are homeless, they have already experienced significant trauma in their young lives, and they need compassionate and expert support to rebuild. We need to raise as much money as possible to help them create a better future and our Vinted shop is another tool in the box to do this.” 

One hundred percent of the profits made by the charity shops are used to support women living at YWCA Yorkshire's homeless hostel, Peile House, in Pitsmoor,  

You can Shop at YWCA Yorkshire Vinted here: https://www.vinted.co.uk/member/58451998 

Charity shop and Vinted donations can be taken to the shop or to Peile House, 255 Pitsmoor Road, Sheffield, S3 9AQ.