The Lumby Community Thrift Store can no longer keep its donation storage container in its parking lot, and its members are now welcoming ideas in their search for an alternative.
The container, affectionately known as “Betty,” sits in the thrift store parking lot, where volunteers store donated items.
But due to Village of Lumby bylaws, and an anonymous report to the bylaw office, Betty will have to vacate the lot by the end of April.
“Our board members and volunteers are currently planning the most efficient way to accept and store your gracious donations after the container is gone,” Amanda Lishman, volunteer and Thrift Store board member, said on Facebook with the hopes of fielding useful suggestions from the public.
Instead, she ended up turning off the post’s comments section, which quickly began to resemble a ‘rant and rave’ page.
“We love working with the community and with the village and all its councillors,” Lishman said, adding the owners of the lot, who took ownership just months ago, are likewise “very helpful.”
The thrift store is only open three days a week during the pandemic, and it relies on the container to store donations for 72 hours before volunteers handle them, in keeping with COVID-19 stop-the-spread guidelines.
“Before we had a huge trailer in the parking lot that we were using, but most of our staff are over 60 and going up and down a step ladder off the back of a highway trailer is not really safe for them,” Lishman said.
Lishman said the store’s board will check in with bylaw to see if a trailer on wheels would be a viable option.
Bottom line, “we don’t want a pile of stuff in a parking lot,” she said.
The thrift store is a popular local hub that attracts customers far and wide, and donations have been strong during the pandemic.
“There are a couple of ladies that will come from Kamloops, some people come from Kelowna just to come shopping at our store on their way to Vernon,” Lishman said.
With no real options in the market to rent a building, the board is welcoming anyone willing to step in and help them through the next through months.
“Perhaps if someone has an empty trailer that could be used.”
The Lumby Community Thrift Store Society can be reached by calling 778-473-3003.
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