Sheffield charity shop manager who received vile 'hope you fail' letter speaks out

The manager of a Sheffield charity shop has spoken out after receiving a vile 'hope you fail' letter from the 'neighbourhood watch'.

Following outrage on social media, the letter actually helped boost the store’s trade. The nasty note penned to Kreate, a homeware store that gives work experience to adults with learning disabilities, said it was 'not welcome' and would likely 'fail'.

When the manager Ruth Denton shared the handwritten message on Facebook, hundreds of well-wishers voiced their support for the store. And she now says they’ve had people from as far away as America making plans to visit - while adding that the letter had helped put the shop “on the map”.

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Ruth, 37, said: “The response we had was unbelievable. It was kind of reassuring really because you know what you are doing is right and people don’t think that about you.

“It’s just helped support the charity no end. It’s really put us on the map, so it’s great… Whether they like us or not, they’ve done us a massive favour." Ruth said the letter had arrived at the shop in the post on Saturday morning (May 4), and she had decided to open it due to the “intriguing” handwriting.

But when she read through the poorly worded note - written in pencil on a single sheet of lined A4 paper - she was stunned by the lines of spiteful comments. The letter said: “To the owner, just a note from neighbourhood watch not to welcome you. The opposite we try not to encourage charity shops round the area or shops selling Blackpool style trinkets.

“A lot of businesses needed by comunitys [sic] have failed and I hope yours does too. Another grey painted trendy Tak. Soon be countdown [sic] for you. Shutters will be permantley [sic] down. Resident Unite (Bocking Lane).”

Ruth was initially saddened by the letter but soon realised that the writer was not aware of the work that Kreate does to help people. She said: "It was really upsetting. We are here for a purpose. The idea of the shop is that the students gain retail experience by working in here, and anything we make in the shop does go back into our charity.

“Obviously the person who wrote it has never been to the shop and has not read up about the charity or knows anything about us, really. So it was a bit like, ‘Do they not understand what we are doing?’ Obviously, they don’t. But it’s not very nice when you see things like that.”

She then decided to take a picture of the bizarre letter and share it with others on social media - which led to a flood of comments from supporters. One wrote: “I'm really pleased they did write this letter as I didn't know you were there and now I do I'm looking forward to visiting and supporting your amazing charity."

Another added: “Well, I am only just a couple of mins up the road and I didn't know you were there. I will be coming down next week.” A third said: “I’ll be round next week to put some money in your till. Amazing cause and my lovely cousin works there. Really hope this negative does so well for you.”

Ruth said she was floored by the response and stunned at just how many people had backed the charity following the nasty comments. She said: “I had somebody just last night comment on one of the posts who was from America.

“Someone actually said they were coming over and they would like to visit. It would be amazing if they did. We don’t actually have an online shop, but we’ve now done orders in Scotland and down south. So the response has been amazing."

Ruth said she still does not know who wrote the original letter and felt it was for the best that they remained anonymous. She added: “We have no idea who they are and it's best to stay that way, I think."

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