St Helena’s church in Larnaca is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its hugely successful Charity Shops Initiative.
The first shop opened in 2013, when a retail property adjacent to the church (and in trust to JEMT (in other words, a Church property) became vacant. Of course, JEMT is bound to charge rent at the going rate for the area, but a business plan was developed which it was hoped would at least cover the cost of the rent in the short term until a clientele became established.
At the opening by then Bishop Michael Lewis, the then Parish Priest, Archdeacon John Holdsworth, said that this should not be seen simply as a fund-raising effort. The shop would play its part in recycling. People who could not afford to pay commercial shop prices would be able to purchase goods and retain their dignity in the process, at an affordable price. The shop would give an opportunity for service to those who wanted to serve the church in the community during the week, and it would act as a shop window for the church, advertising services and events and acting as a drop-in for those who wanted just to have a chat with friendly company. It would raise funds, hopefully, but ten percent of all its takings would be given to charities that the church supported.
Two years later a second shop was opened in the village of Perivolia, some 10K away. This was a larger shop which meant a) that it could take larger items such as furniture and b) that occasionally it could be used as an outreach ‘church’ in its own right, holding occasional services at times such as Harvest, Christmas and Easter. Later, the town centre shop expanded to include the shop next door. Both shops are thriving and fulfilling their remit.
On the day I visited the Larnaca shop, which is open three mornings a week, there was very healthy footfall (as retailers say). The two helpers that day, Rowena and Jan hardly had time to speak to me. In a lull we managed to have a conversation. The thing that gave each of them the most pleasure was the interaction with so many different people, which felt like fulfilling a pastoral need for some of them. Some regular customers have become almost part of the family. “We’ve seen their children grow,” said Jan.
The customer profile has changed, according to Rowena. “There were few charity shops in Larnaca when we opened,” she said, “and Cypriots struggled with the concept. In the early days most of our customers were foreign domestic workers, but now we have people from all over the world.” They include holiday makers and locals as well as refugees and asylum seekers. Lots of people come to talk. Jan said, “we try to sort them out.” As I was there, a family from Tel Aviv came in who told me they were “running away from the fire.” In recent weeks they have seen people from Ukraine, Iraq, Iran, South Africa, Gaza and Tartarstan “I had no idea such a place existed,” admitted Jan. One of the other volunteers speaks Arabic, which has proved to be especially useful.
As a student from the UCLAN campus (University of Central Lancashire, which has established in Larnaca) came in to find something for a party she was attending that evening, both volunteers spoke about how it had changed them to be involved in what they saw as an outreach project. They said that if they had to miss a shift, they really did miss it. Rowena said, “If people go out with a smile then we’ve done our job.” Some people are certainly smiling. Recently, an amount of 2000 euros was shared between three local charities and the Ras Morbat clinic in Yemen.
And another satisfied customer left with a slinky crimson party number.