FROM a few makeshift shelves in an office to two containers converted into a second-hand shop to The Charity Shop delux in Alberton Mall.
This is the story of how Stepping Stone Hospice & Care Services’ have managed to create an impressive, growing fundraising avenue and budget from the sale of donated second-hand goods.
Thursday June 1, 2017 saw the opening of the much anticipated The Charity Shop, described by guests at the opening celebration on Tuesday night, May 31, as the “flagship of charity shops!” A delighted Elsa Kleynhans and her daughter, Rika, were the first two shoppers through the door on Thursday morning. “I have waited weeks for this day and now I can finally shop to my heart’s content,” she said.
Stepping Stone Hospice & Care Services is an independent, community-driven organisation that provides specialist care to people facing life-limiting illnesses and whose conditions no longer respond to curative treatment.
Fundraising is an integral part of Stepping Stone Hospice as their services are available to anyone, regardless of the nature of their disease or social circumstances. Their retail team, managed by Brenda Peach, is confident that Stepping Stone’s charity shop will not only serve as an excellent source of income for hospice, but also as a beautiful shop for the community where anything from a child’s pair of shoes to a Royal Albert tea set can be bought at very reasonable prices.
Stepping Stone’s first charity shop, Ububele, will continue trading on the AMCARE premises in New Market Park where the in-patient unit is also situated.
At the official opening, CEO Tersia Burger expressed her gratitude to the hardworking retail team and also thanked the public, staff as well as all the sponsors and suppliers. “No effort was spared to turn this into a spectacular charity shop and I wish Brenda and her team all the success they deserve,” she said.
Tersia reiterated that, for the charity shop to continue to grow, Stepping Stone Hospice is dependent on the public to donate all their unwanted goods. “You may think something is not worth much, but to us it could be worth quite a lot.”
If you have any goods to donate, kindly contact Brenda on 063 684 1408.
In case you’ve missed it:
The Charity Shop is becoming a shoppers haven
The Charity Shop ready to open its doors
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