I WAS deeply concerned to hear of Mrs Bishop’s experiences in trying to donate her furniture to our secondhand superstore at Northway.

I can only apologise for the frustration and inconvenience she has clearly suffered in trying to gain access to our service.

There have certainly been occasions when the generosity of those donating goods to us has been overwhelming for our small team of volunteers.

We are grateful to Mrs Bishop for highlighting this particular problem of our efficiency in receiving calls from the public and can offer assurance that steps are being taken to greatly improve this area of our operation.

As a significant part of our funding is from donations of both cash and goods, we appeal for this to continue in order to provide ongoing training and support for our staff team.

Emmaus is a tremendously valuable charity that serves not only the once-homeless volunteers who make up our staff team, but also the wider community.

Our stores provide inexpensive household goods for those on tight budgets and an alternative to landfill dumping for our donators. In addition, we regularly engage in numerous charitable works, from litter picking to sponsored events, most recently a bike ride last weekend that raised more than £1,500 pounds for the charity Railway Children.

Once again, we urge those who wish to donate to continue to do so, as the vast majority of inquiries are processed promptly and efficiently.

We are always interested in hearing about people’s experiences of using Emmaus, both good and bad, as we strive to improve our important work.

JON ROBSON Deputy community leader Emmaus Oxford Oxford Road Cowley