Charity shop raises funds for North Louth Hospice - and a mecca for bargain hunters
Designer outfits, brand new curtains, popular box sets and best selling books are among the treasures to be found in the North Louth Hospice and Home Care Foundation shop at The Ramparts Shopping Centre.
The shop is a treasure trove for bargain hunters and also a value source of income for the charity.
‘A team of volunteers run the shop, which is open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday,’ explains co-ordinator Mary McMcDonald.
‘People are very good with donating items and we get everything from clothing to bric a brac.’
It’s a mecca for bargain hunters who can snap up brand new designer outfits if they are lucky.
‘Last year one of our volunteers kitted out a lady who was going to a wedding with an outfit for €30,’ recalls Mary.
‘ The shop is a really good fund raiser for us, and we can make money by recycling clothing that isn’t in good enough condition to sell.’
Many of those who volunteer have experience of the work which the Foundation does for cancer patients and want to give something in return.
Stephanie Cumiskey volunteered to work in the shop as she wanted to give something back after seeing the care which her sister Bernie Boyle received after being diagnosed with cancer in 2010.
‘ The Hospice were really good to Bernie and her family, very supportive,’ she recalls.
‘ They provided carers who came to the house, did reflexology sessions, talked and listened to her, and some of them even sang with her which she really enjoyed.’
The provision of a specialist bed meant that Bernie was able to spend her final days at home with those she loved. ‘She wanted to spend her final days at home and not go into hospital and wouldn’t have been able to do that without the Hospice,’ says Stephanie.
Bernie’s husband Errol has also become involved with the Hospice and is one of the organisers of the Cooley Challenge.