Alongside food relief operations, Freedom Care also has an op shop filled with quality second-hand items at great prices including toys, kitchenware, clothing and jewellery.
Items are priced to sell with all tops $2, ladies’ dresses $4 and most expensive items – usually brand-new kitchenware – about $6.
Items like air fryers and electric frying pans are tested and tagged to ensure good condition.
Volunteer Kerry has been instrumental in lifting the op shop to its current high standard, joining Freedom Care over a year ago with wanting to volunteer during retirement.
“It was awful, dingy, packed with rubbish and so much shelving you couldn’t even walk through the walkways,” she said.
“I’m very tidy at home so this was such a challenge for me and I’ve loved it.
“I got rid of cupboards and shelving and lots of stuff. I know when I’ve gone to op shops and you see all this crinkled, horrible, dirty looking stuff it’s not nice. So I make sure we iron everything and just make it look great.”
Freedom Care Church pastor Frantz said the shop’s quality was ‘exceptional’.
“We get a lot of donations but we have very little space so Kerry and her team go through everything, keeping the best and we give what we can’t use to other op shops,” he said.
Kerry also places displays at the Freedom Care entrance, with an Easter display currently on show promoting the Easter raffle.
“My daughter’s friend works for Cadburys and they’re donating three big boxes of Easter eggs,” she said.
“I’m going to make little baskets and that adds to what we make and it just creates a bit of interest out the front.”
Tickets are $2 each or $3 for five.
“We don’t make a lot on the raffles, but because it’s donated anything we make is a bonus,” Kerry said.
“Everything we make goes back here and that’s why we’ve been really desperate to first of all get volunteers but also get donations because it’s spread so thinly.”
Kerry hoped more people would visit the op shop.
“People don’t know we’re here, which is really sad,” she said.
