Opportunity Knocks

St Andrew’s Op Shop, Waiuku

People from all over Tāmaki Makaurau travel regularly to Waiuku, a small settlement about an hour south of the CBD, to an op shop that last year won the prestigious title of “Number One Op Shop in Auckland”. It is an accolade that St Andrew’s Opportunity Shop manager, Sharron Levestone, and her team of 80 volunteers are working hard to maintain. “It is a status we are endeavouring to keep. It surely is motivating to receive such daily praise from our customers,” Sharron says.

Trading hours and revenue generated have increased exponentially since the operation started in May 1976. Back then goods laid on a trestle table at the back of a garage raised $65 in a day. Now the large shop, purpose designed and built in 2017 by the Waiuku and District Combined Churches, is typically open six days a week and takings average $2,200 per day. Closures include Public Holidays, the Christmas period, and any other days deemed necessary to allow the operations team, including a 92-year-old, to take a well-deserved break.

Volunteers include church parishioners and members of the community; ‘walk-ins’ and volunteer referrals eager to be part of the close-knit, highly motivated sales and operations force. Where possible Sharron tries to match her staff to working in an area that appeals to their interests. ”I always ask, ‘Do you have a passion in a particular area?’ Some prefer to work backstage, some like being out front. For example, I have a retired school teacher in charge of our book department.”

When Sharron started in 2017, she was the only paid employee. The payroll has grown to include an assistant manager and more recently, a paid cleaner. “This helps me to delegate some of the workload and allows for my annual leave. Having a paid cleaner takes the pressure off my elderly volunteers who were previously completing these tasks,” Sharron says.

Stocked to Go

Most donations come from the Waiuku township although sometimes donors drive from outlying regions if their local op shops are not receiving donations at that time. “We aim to accept donations all year round, unless we get overwhelmed and need to place a temporary hold, usually after the busy Christmas season,” Sharron says.

Maintaining their reputation for quality goods is a priority. Skips are available for any items deemed unsuitable for sale. A Reclaim Bin for flattened cardboard is picked up fortnightly and the local recycling station takes old metal appliances for free. The list of items the shop is unable to accept for safety reasons includes Christmas lights, electric blankets, life jackets and car seats. Electrical items are tested and tagged by one of four trained and certified volunteers. Every effort is made to minimise waste.

“We have free trolleys outside for shoes, bric-a-brac, books and linen. Clothing garments that don’t match our strict quality control conditions are put outside on our free rack or cut up for rags and sold to local businesses. Selling bags of rags is just another way to keep the takings coming in,” Sharron says.

In April and September the store is closed for a day and a half as staff prepare for the two annual End of Season changeovers. “These major working bees are well attended by my volunteers. We have sales leading up to the changeover with stock drastically reduced. No stored boxes of clothing of that season are carried over into next year.”

Collaborating with other enterprises and charities benefits the extended community and enables the Waiuku shop to maintain a high turnover of goods. “I donate any excess stock to, for example, our sister church op shop in Tuakau, We Care Manurewa, Rawiri Community House, and Waiuku Family Support. Other case-by-case situations include needy families, fire victims and WINZ clients. At the end of each season anything left over is put outside for free.”

A Facebook page has been invaluable for promoting the store. “Since its introduction we have attracted 2,100 followers with the numbers increasing daily. We use this page to promote our sale events, shop closures, church/community activities, higher ticketed items for sale or any other shop events.”

A Trade Me account is used to list valuable items. “Our most prized item was a Crown Lynn vase that had a closing bid of $1,500. On average, we can generate $700 per month in Trade Me sales,” Sharron says.

Last year furniture sales alone generated $75,000 and plans for a site redevelopment on church property next door include a new hall with the frontage dedicated to a second-hand furniture showroom and store.

Rev Richard Gray says, “Integrating the shop as part of the parish mission to community and beyond is important. We see all who work in the shop as part of our church community, whether they attend formal worship on Sunday with us or other churches in town. It is a place for people to come and feel valued for the contribution they make. We acknowledge their efforts by hosting an annual luncheon in October. When people see the donations we make to the wider community through grants and goods, there is a realisation that we can make a difference in people's lives.

“The shop is also a way in which we can directly assist people in need in our community. Where we know people are struggling, we can quietly assist them with goods from the shop. Over and above this, the income from the shop helps the church to employ people for specific ministries within the community. Ministries with families, and to the older section of our community have been made possible because of the work of St Andrew's Op Shop. They are a great team of people who work tirelessly for the good of the whole community.”

Fund Distribution

Over the past 30 years, many local and national charities have been identified to receive a $500 grant on a rotating monthly cycle that sees each charity awarded funding once every year or two. The shop also has access to a larger source of funding, up to $10,000, that organisations and schools can apply for.

A Governance Committee chaired by the minister Rev Gray meets monthly to consider administration issues, finances and grant applications. Members include Sharron, the parish treasurer and representatives from the congregation and the volunteer team.

Paraparaumu Thrifty Place

In 1998, Kapiti Uniting Parish members started the first opportunity shop at Raumati beach. A building behind the church was designated as a trading space and one day a week, volunteers opened the doors to anyone passing. In 2015 when parishioner Kay McIntosh joined the dedicated team of volunteers, Thrifty Place was open three days per week. In 2019 Kay was asked to take on the management role and five years on, her team includes many of the original parishioners involved since Thrifty Place first opened.

Opening hours have been scheduled around the diverse groups that use the church facilities, many of whom did not realise the op shop was there. “We have no street frontage so people beyond our immediate local and church communities didn’t know we existed,” Kay says. Now members of the arts and craft group, yoga, tai chi, playgroup parents and other parish facility users are regular patrons.

Kay called on the expertise of a younger, media savvy friend to help promote the op shop. “She put us on every social media platform and suddenly we were very popular,” Kay says.

Donations and volunteers come from parish members and the wider community. Many regular customers have offered to work shifts and Kay says there is a strong sense of companionship and camaraderie between the helpers and those who visit. “This is just like family, for the volunteers and for the many regulars who pop in for a chat and company. For some, the visit to our place is their first daily point of personal contact. We operate outreach as much as anything else.”

Funds raised from selling goods – small pieces of furniture, linen, clothing, books, bedding, children’s toys and homewares – are used to support parish facilities and church projects, including a community garden, a free counselling service and resources for community groups. The recent installation of new carpet to replace the threadbare flooring was an unexpected gesture appreciated by the entire Thrifty Place community. “We would have been happy with recycled carpet, but new carpet is great. The church supports us 100 percent and we all get so much enjoyment and enthusiasm out of being involved,” Kay says.

Opawa Community Church Op Shop Open for Business

What began 40 years ago as a community outreach service offering soup and a second-hand sales table from a room in a decrepit villa next to the Opawa Community Church in Christchurch has evolved into a thriving second-hand shop. The old property was burnt down in a suspicious fire in what turned out to be a blessing for the parish. The insurance payout was used to build a replacement three-bedroom home that now provides space for the op shop and offices for the church administrator and presbyter.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning at 10am the garage door is swung open to enable passersby and destination bound shoppers to browse the laden shelves in the garage and racks in the living tooms of the house. The spare bedroom is chock full of clothing and Christmas decorations. Racks and shelves are replenished daily according to what is available and seasonal demand. In December, the Christmas decorations, trees and lights collected throughout the year are brought out of storage and used to transform the sales areas into a festive space.

Shop manager, Rachel Hood, a long serving member of the church leadership team, took over the management role about 18 months ago. As well as sorting rosters, managing volunteers and working shifts as required, Rachel pops in every day the shop is open to visit staff. Daily she scoops up and sorts random drop offs. Rachel says, “Stuff just arrives at the door. Deceased estates, clothing, boxes of utensils, mattresses and even old tyres.”

Clearing the doorway ranges from being a pleasure to a pain. Items too big to accommodate in the retail space are left on the pavement outside and invariably get taken by passing opportunists. Other drops go straight into the skip in the carpark. Emptied fortnightly, Rachel says she is constantly surprised by the stuff that people leave. Dirty but saleable clothing and linen is taken home by staff to be laundered, and goods and clothing not suited to the Opawa Op Shop community are passed on to a local trust.

A high-profile freestanding promotional flag placed outside on the pavement each morning the shop opens, attracts the interests of passersby as well as alerting the local community to the fact the shop is open for business. A wooden sign hanging at the street entrance has been upgraded and Facebook posts done by the minister Rev Craig Fairhall’s daughter, Samantha, ensure that the shop attracts loyal regular and new customers.

Volunteers typically work in groups of two or three to staff the three days the shop is open. Mostly retired, some have a connection to the parish but many have no church affiliation. Rachel welcomes the collective passion, expertise and skills that her team bring to the busy little enterprise that generates income and goodwill.

On average the shop earns around $1,000 each week and the funds are used to support overseas mission. Currently that includes a family providing medical support in East Timor and a family in Asia assisting with coffee production.