Street Store

We hosted our first ever Street Store in Cathedral Mall in front of the Denis Hurley Centre on Youth Day and welcomed hundreds of ‘happy customers’ - the poorest in the city.

 

Street Store is a concept originally devised by a young Jewish woman in Cape Town and which has now travelled across the globe. The idea is to give those who cannot afford it a dignified shopping experience as if they were in a real store. Partnering with the incredibly organsied Grace Family Church Umhlanga meant that we were able to deliver this, and more.

 

173 boxes of new and nearly new clothes were collected through churches with the help of Jam Clothing Stores and Container World. They were then sorted and folded or put on hangars so that the traders’ tables outside soon looked like a real clothing store. Each of the 1,060 customers was greeted by a personal shopper who helped him or her to fill one big bag with clothes of their choice. Afterwards they could then get a haircut, foot massage or manicure (courtesy of Sorbet Durban North) and then get a filling vegetarian lunch provided by the Hare Krishna organisation, Food for Life, also working with us for the first time.

 

The volunteers were excellent in making sure every person felt special (despite the crowds) - and the children had an extra treat since there was a play area with face painting (and a real live Springbok rugby player!). It was great to welcome so many volunteers who had never been to the Denis Hurley Centre before and who walked away with a positive new attitude towards the city centre.