The thrift store that has been organized by the Canora Ministerial Association continues to look for more donations, especially of winter items.
“We tend to get a lot of summer things around this time of year when people clean out their closets,” said Sharon Uhryn, volunteer with the thrift store, “but we could always use more winter things.”
The thrift store has been running for eight years, after Donna Franz organized both the Filling the Gap Food Bank and the store due to a perceived need in the community for organized local charities.
The store is primarily staffed by volunteers from the parish of the Parkland Christian Centre. Rev. Brett Watson is there on a regular basis, but insists that “the ladies do all the hard work” with organizing the donations, pricing them, and shelving them.
Volunteers include Uhryn, Judy Roll, Marge Blair and Donna Franklin.
The store offers housewares, women’s and men’s clothing, decorations, toys, and more, depending on the donations made to the store by the community. The only guidelines for donations are that the items must be in good working order, clean, and wearable if they are clothing.
The thrift store has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, due to people showing an interest in recycling and being more conscious about what is placed in landfills.
“We like to call it ‘upcycling,’ where you take something old and make it into something better,” said Franklin.
“People will always have a use for something you don’t need anymore,” said Uhryn.
The store is well-stocked, but is especially in need of winter clothes due to making their annual shipment of winter items to Pelican Narrows, as it does every year for Thanksgiving.
Uhryn assures that all items are either sold at the store, with proceeds going towards Filling the Gap Food Bank, or given to other thrift stores or the Canadian Diabetes Association. Nothing is thrown out.
Watson mentioned that the decorations in particular can be unique, as many of them are old family keepsakes and may even be valuable.
The members of the thrift store said they were grateful to Lorie Regher, the owner of the Dairy Bar, for allowing them to share the store space, and thanked the people of Canora for their “incredible generosity.”
“We’re able to donate some items to those who are down and out or have just moved to Canora and don’t have much,” Watson said.
