The SOS Thrift Shop has been helping people in various ways for 46 years, but no, they don’t have that in a different size.
“We don’t purchase new stock,” said SOS (Society of Organized Services) Executive Director Renate Sutherland. “People ask, ‘do you have this in red?,’ but no, we have what we get donated.”
In 1968 when the SOS founders were looking for donations towards “things like shoes and coats for kids and Christmas and emergency assistance,” she said they would say, “if you have stuff you were going to throw away, give it to us.”
Originally they passed it on to people in need, or sold it in occasional rummage sales, but soon they had several small shops, sometimes temporary, throughout the region. They had locations on Morrison Avenue, Pioneer Crescent and even at the Coombs Country Market until they built the Pauline Touzeau Centre in 1982.
In 2002 they built the existing 1,672 sq.m (18,000 sq.ft.), two-storey thrift shop across the street, doubling the size and freeing the original building for more administration and program space.
“When we built the purpose built building, the whole idea was always that it was the revenue arm of the SOS,” Sutherland said of what is now one of the largest non-profit second-hand stores on the Island.
“The SOS was doing social enterprise before social enterprise became a way of raising money for the work we do,” she said.
Today the shop generates 80 to 90 percent of the SOS’s funds, 84.5 percent currently. That allows them to offer more than 30 programs throughout the Parksville Qualicum Beach region, more than 20 of which are free to participants, or by donation, including things like meals on wheels, medical appointment transportation, help with tax returns, education and recreation assistance, personal growth programs and emergency support.
Sutherland said that 95 per cent of the money you spend at the thrift shop goes directly back into the local community.
“When you donate to the thrift store we say thank you because you’ve donated to our programs and services, if you shopped at the thrift store we say thank you again because you supported our programs and services.”
The SOS also donates items from the shop to other local non-profit programs, organizations and events and they support the community by shopping locally and hiring local people.
About 26 of their 60 paid employees — including part-time — work in the thrift shop.
And the organization is volunteer driven, with about 360 active volunteers, almost half working at the thrift shop on everything from till to stocking shelves, pricing and maintenance.
The only thing the volunteers don’t do is sort through the sometimes gruesome donations or go out on the pick up runs which involves heavy lifting.
“We’re always looking for more volunteers, we’re desperate for cashiers,” Sutherland said.
Their volunteers, while active, tend to be older and they regularly lose them to winters down south, summers off, taking care of grandchildren or other priorities.
In the fall the SOS starts gearing up for the holidays and their major Caring for Kids at Christmas effort with fundraisers like the Tigh-na-mara toy drive breakfast Nov. 25 and the Angel Tree program with Christmas trees marking donation spots across the region.
The SOS has been recognized far and wide for their service and innovation with awards including the Prime Minister’s Volunteer Award last year.
“The SOS has grown into a model of success that is impacting other communities on, and beyond, Vancouver Island,” said MP James Lunney announcing the award.
“It’s inspirational, the organization embodies the spirit of the community,” said Kevin Krueger, Minister of Social Development on a tour in 2011. “It’s really wonderful to see, this organization is a real leader,” he said, noting they were setting up programs for things like sexual abuse and elder abuse “long before the rest of society.”
Stop by the SOS Thrift Shop to support the organization, or just to find a good deal on clothing, jewellery, furniture, toys, books, collectibles and much more.
It is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday at 188 West Hirst Avenue, at McMillan Street. For more call 250-248-2532 or visit www.sosd69.com.
