Little shop of treasures
Tina Venter and Bunny Hall have collectively been volunteering their time at the shop for more than 10 years. ‘We do it for the love of it, and to keep active during our retirement,’ say the cheerful ladies
Books, books everywhere! A veritable library, stocked with books - but at a fraction of the retail price
There are very few places where one can shop with just some small bank notes in one’s purse.
At the Zululand Hospice Charity Shop however, a little goes a very long way.
Not only are shoppers saving money, but they are directly assisting the association to continue with their noble work - providing palliative care to the terminally ill.
The Charity Shop, situated in Turnbull Street, Empangeni, runs solely on donations of clothing, books and bric-a-brac from the public.‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’, shop Manager Jean Harborth says.‘We welcome any donations - and then the sorting process begins with the help of our many dedicated volunteers,’ she says.
The donated goods are thoroughly inspected. Quality goods are then sent to the marking room, where another group of ladies carefully price the donations before they are sent onto the shop floor.‘Those goods that we do not consider to be worth selling are sent onwards to various needy charities - nothing that is donated to us is ever thrown away,’ says Harborth.
Fine crew
To steer such a fine ship, one needs a fine crew, and Jean says there at at least five volunteers on the property every day. ‘We would not be able to function without our volunteers, who enjoy the hard but satisfying work we do on a daily basis. ‘Most of them are retired and enjoy the friendship and fellowship they share at ‘work’.
The shop is essentially the engine room of the organisation, and all moneys go directly towards funding the palliative care that Hospice provides to the uMhlathuze area. ‘We encourage people to visit the shop and browse through our lovely selection of books, which is very popular,’ said Harborth.
The shop is open from Mondays to Fridays at 8.30am to 12.30pm. It is open until 3pm on the last Friday of each month.
For further information about donating goods of any sort to this worthy cause, contact Jean on 035 7724953.