Free for All shop sets up in Porirua CBD
There’s one thing the hundreds of people queuing outside a Porirua store have in common; nobody is holding a wallet.
Inside, among the books, clothes, kitchenware and furniture the only thing missing was a cash register and price tags, everything is free.
Welcome to ‘‘Free for All’’, a pop-up store that will be housed in one of Cobham Court’s many empty shops until September 11.
Co-founder Dee Glentworth said the premise was simple, ‘‘there’s no catch, no fine print, everything’s given with love.’’
Along with friend Chrissy Leggott, Glentworth has been running the shop since March, collecting donated goods no longer needed by their owners then giving them away to people who want them.
‘‘It’s a real community effort, without people donating we’d have nothing to give away, so we rely on those people.
‘‘It’s something that brings people together ... every person from every culture understands the word free.’’
The shop usually ran out of the pair’s homes in Waitangirua and Johnsonville, but weather dictated the opening hours.
‘‘We need fine weather to put the stuff outside or we can’t open, but it’s during bad weather when people need things the most.’’
Being able to use the CBD shop rent free for the next fortnight was a wonderful opportunity for everybody, she said.
‘‘Look at all the people, that must give some benefit to the other retailers as well.’’
Porirua woman Memory Joe was on the look out for toys and books for her children.
‘‘It just means a lot for me and my kids, we can’t buy a lot of things and this is so convenient for us ... it saves us a lot of money.’’
She said her family had got a lot of things from the shop when it was housed in Leggott’s garage, but the city shop was a much better location.
Fran, who didn’t want to give her last name, was happy to show off her bags of free goodies.
‘‘I don’t need them, but my friends will love them ... I think this [the shop] is an absolutely fabulous idea.
‘‘People like to say that we’re poor in Porirua, but when you look at this shop you see how rich we are, we’re rich in people.’’
People wanting to donate their unwanted items were welcome to bring them to the shop until September 10.