Charity Shops

We have seen charity shops in almost every town, even the very small towns. The charity shops are run by volunteers, who decide what charities they wish to support. They accept donations of clothes, books, and household items, and then they sell them in the shop. The rent for the shop comes off the top of the profits, and then everything else is donated to charity.



The shop in Martock is very small, but it is stuffed with items for sale. They have lots of business----so if you see something you want, you better buy it, because it won't be there later! Prices are sometimes higher than garage sale prices, but still good. I have bought several kitchen items, such as extra forks, plastic plates for the kids, and extra serving bowls.(Our apartment has a furnished kitchen, so I have not had to buy much.)
The ladies at the shop say that there are about 20 volunteers (pretty good for a very small community). Those 20 people have decided to fund programs dedicated to children, such as Scouts, a children's hospital, needy children, etc. Last week one of the ladies told me that her son's life had been saved by a helicopter air-lift after a traffic accident. The volunteer group decided to support emergency air-lift last year with $4000.