# Help Refugees Christmas pop-up lets people shop for refugees

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/11/13/help-refugees-christmas-pop-lets-people-shop-refugees/
- Published: 2017-11-13T10:04:37+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**A pop-up Christmas shop is opening in Soho this month, where people can buy items
to directly help refugees.**

The Choose Love shop opens on 24 November as an alternative to Black Friday, until
31 January, and lets people buy everything from emergency blankets to school bags
and medical equipment to support [Help Refugees](https://helprefugees.org/) in their
work across Europe and the Middle East.

The space in Broadwick Street in the heart of Soho has been provided by real estate
investment trust Shaftesbury and created by creative collective [Glimpse](http://www.weglimpse.co),
who were behind last year’s campaign that saw all adverts in Clapham Common tube
station replaced with [pictures of cats](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/06/14/battersea-dogs-cats-home-teams-kickstarter-campaign-transform-tube-station/)
in association with Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. From the outside the store will 
look like a Soho boutiques and will showcase a range of items that represent the
three phases of a refugee’s experience: Arrival, Camp and The Future. The curated
selection of items, such as blankets and gloves, are all items distributed by Help
Refugees on the front lines of the refugee crisis. Each item on sale will be accompanied
by short stories about how and why it was chosen.

## Advertisement

> We’re working on a really exciting new project for the holiday season. Can you
> guess what it is? [#ChooseLove](https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChooseLove?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> [#BlackFriday](https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackFriday?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> [pic.twitter.com/XGdyw5NFNp](https://t.co/XGdyw5NFNp)
> — Choose Love (@chooselove) [November 10, 2017](https://twitter.com/chooselove/status/928931919353516032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Visitors to the store simply take an item’s tag to the till or buy directly from
one of the store staff. Along with their purchase, visitors can find out about the
work of Help Refugees through the charity’s staff. Costs will range from £4.99 to
£499 with an option to even ‘buy the store’.

Josie Naughton CEO of Help Refugees, said:

> “It’s easy to forget how lucky we are to have a bed, a blanket and a roof over
> our heads. For thousands of refugees this Winter, these basic human needs are 
> completely out of reach. This shop is all about one simple idea: that we should
> all choose love this Christmas and help those in need”

James Turner from Glimpse said:

> “We want charity giving to become as much part of the festive shopping experience
> as secret Santa and stocking fillers. This Christmas we’re hoping people will 
> come together, Choose Love and buy gifts for refugees who truly need them.”

The team are also opening an online store, which will be announced closer to launch.

 * **[Salvation Army Trading Company partners with Intercity Technology to improve store experience](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/04/26/salvation-army-trading-company-partners-intercity-technology-improve-store-experience/)**(
   26 April 2018)
 * **[Gumtree to list items from BHF furniture stores in new partnership](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/12/11/gumtree-list-items-bhf-furniture-stores-new-partnership/)**(
   11 December 2018)
 * **[Harrods & NSPCC designer charity pop up opens for second year](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/05/07/harrods-nspcc-designer-charity-pop-up-opens-for-second-year/)**(
   7 May 2019)

![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader-
2x.gif)

## Comments

### By: HowardLake

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/11/13/help-refugees-christmas-pop-lets-people-shop-refugees/#comment-3189
- Published: 2017-11-13T17:05:00+00:00

[https://twitter.com/james\_overstand/status/930118909465948160](https://twitter.com/james_overstand/status/930118909465948160)

### By: HowardLake

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/11/13/help-refugees-christmas-pop-lets-people-shop-refugees/#comment-3190
- Published: 2017-12-09T11:06:00+00:00

Here’s the New Statesman’s coverage:
 Choose Love: the shop where you can spend 
hundreds and walk away with nothing [https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/12/choose-love-shop-where-you-can-spend-hundreds-and-walk-away-nothing](https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/12/choose-love-shop-where-you-can-spend-hundreds-and-walk-away-nothing)
