A Lower Mainland charity called Clothes2U is looking to set up shop on the Sunshine Coast, and a volunteer is needed to coordinate the charity's local activities.
Clothes2U collects and distributes clothing, toys, linens, diapers, smaller household and personal items free to those who need them.
"I call it a thrift store on wheels without the cash register," said Clothes2U founder Ernie Jantzen.
He had the idea of Clothes2U about 10 years ago when he set up a sort of free garage sale for single parents in the Langley area.
That event prompted lots of donations and soon Jantzen had more donated goods than he could distribute through the free garage sales.
He connected with a church in Langley and found that offering free Clothes2U events in their church hall was a great way to distribute the collected items.
That's the model he envisions for the Sunshine Coast- - a local volunteer who connects with a church or school to put on two or three Clothes2U events a year.
Originally Jantzen was approached by someone on the Sunshine Coast who wanted to set up a Clothes2U chapter, but she has since bowed out, saying she doesn't have time for the effort right now.
"Because something's been started there [on the Sunshine Coast] and some people have been contacted about Clothes2U already, I would like to see it through," Jantzen said.
In order to continue, however, Jantzen needs a committed volunteer to get Clothes2U off the ground. It's not a paying job and it requires quite a bit of commitment to gather, sort and store the items donated until an event can be planned and executed, but Jantzen notes it is a rewarding effort.
"Just the fact that you're helping so many people, and I mean there's lots of organizations, you can send them a cheque and they do good things with the money that you send them, but this here, I get to see first hand the help that people get," Jantzen said, noting there's "a whole range of people" who use the free service.
He suggests a local volunteer wouldn't start with the "full meal deal," rather they would likely only collect and distribute toys and clothing to start.
"The other stuff takes quite a bit of space to store," Jantzen noted.
If you would like to get involved or want to find out more, email Jantzen at [email protected] or visit www.clothes2u.ca.
