DISTRICT op-shoppers rejoice!

As of today, there are now TWO treasure chests of pre-loved items in Casterton to satisfy your pre-loved retail cravings, with the valuable bonus of contributing to two essential community support services.

Casterton Community Centre’s new Community Op-Shop joins the local Vinnies Store in offering a treasure trove of used – not abused – items including clothing, household items, bric-a-brac and toys, with proceeds to support the centre’s service to the community.

Vinnies manager, Bridget Campbell and Community Centre manager, Lisa McDonald said while completely separate organisations, they worked for a common goal and were confident in the demand for another outlet in town to cater to the increasingly popular ‘op-shop movement’, which also providing support for essential local services.

“I think the message might have got a little lost in the narrative that’s happening right now – we’re not ‘working together’, but we’re not in competition with each other … there’s room and demand for two charity shops in town and we hope the community enjoys having two venues to explore and at the same time, support essential local services,” Ms Campbell said.

With media houses like ‘Elle’ magazine, publishing articles like ‘11 Op-Shops You Need To Visit Across Every (Yes, Every) Australian State’ and websites popping up to support the habits of dedicated op-shoppers, double the op-shops can also potentially mean double the attraction for Casterton and – as Ms McDonald points out – double the contributions to the local services.

“We have the common goal of working for and with the community and we hope residents and visitors enjoy the benefits offered by two charity outlets, both as shoppers and recipients of our services,” Ms McDonald said.

The Casterton Community Centre Op-Shop opens today with everyone invited to a barbecue at the store and the whole community is invited to attend.

The Community Op-Shop will open from 9am to 3.30pm, Wednesday to Friday and 9am to 12noon on Saturday.

Vinnies is open from 9.30am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday and 10am until 1pm on Saturday.

And both Vinnies and the Op-Shop are looking for volunteers to help man their services.

Contact Ms Campbell at Vinnies on 03 5581 2161, or pop into the store for a chat, or drop into the Community Centre or phone Ms McDonald on 03 5581 2139 if you would like to volunteer.