White Elephant Charity celebrates two years

A charity shop that helps other organisations is in need of your support.

In spite of the impact of the current economic climate, The White Elephant Charity Organisation celebrated its official second birthday on 1 August.

The registered non-profit organisation (NPO) operates The Curiosity Shop with a staff of three at the Mount Dev Centre on 225 Beyers Naude Drive.

The charity shop was opened with no stock but the generosity of the community was immediately evident as unwanted goods were donated, filling the shop to the brim.

Celebrating two years means a lot to Leon de Villiers, Laura de Sousa and Darlington Chirwa who are the faces of the charity shop.

“Laura and I are 70 this year and we worked for a charity shop before but we were not happy with the circumstances there so I resigned and started this charity shop a year later,” said De Villiers.
“We have a lot of experience in charity shops and Darlington has been helping us and he understands what to do. As Laura always says, I love what I do and I do what I love.”

The charity shop currently supports 18 different charity organisations ranging from organisations that support babies, children and old-age homes to patients with severe medical conditions, as well as animal rescue centres.

“These organisations receive donations of material goods for which they have no use and also do not have shops where they can sell these items in order to raise funds. They place these goods with us to sell and to donate the funds derived thereof back to them.

“Members of the public also donate goods and can then nominate who should benefit from the proceeds.”

Even with all its success in getting donations from the community, the shop has also been hit by the recent increase in the cost of living.

Its regular customers have not been buying as much as usual, which puts a burden on the shop in its quest to assist other charities.

“We have noticed that the current economic situation has placed a financial burden on consumers. However, we are asking the community to come and pay us a visit and see if they can find anything they can use in the shop. It is all for a good cause.”

The charity shop still needs display cabinets and shelves to be able to store their items neatly and be able to display as much of the donated items as possible.

For more information, visit the organisation’s Facebook page TWECO The Curiosity Shop or call 011 888 0707 or email leon@tweco.org.za

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