Denis Hurley Centre Street Store serves success
The vibrancy of DHC Street Store is testament to the dedication of its volunteers and the support that they receive in donations, as over 10 000 items of clothing were gifted this year from generous donors.
THE recent eighth annual Denis Hurley Centre (DHC) Street Store event has been hailed as a success after it drew scores of crowds who were served with joy and dignity while making a difference to the lives of many.
The Street Store event was held in collaboration with Grace Family Church and other partners. Raymond Perrier of the Denis Hurley Centre extended their gratitude and said that the event would not have been possible without the people who donated around 10 000 items of clothing.
He said, “This year we expanded the footprint for collecting clothes by adding in six churches in other parts of the city: three Anglican and three Catholic. We want to acknowledge the generosity of the parishes of St Agnes, St Cyprian, St Dominic, St Joseph, St Thomas and our Lady of Lourdes who were willing to collect clothes not only from their parishioners but other local residents.”
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The donation appeal focused particularly on the clothes that were needed. Perrier said there was a greater need for thin men’s sizes. “To further add to the collection, seven high schools joined in – the clothes that teenage boys use (and quickly discard as they grow bigger) are often exactly the sizes that we need. So let us further acknowledge the good efforts of the boys and sometimes girls of Clifton, Crawford La Lucia, Holy Family, Kearsney, St Benedict’s, Thomas More and Westville Boys High. It was very generous of Kearsney to include several boxes of old school uniforms, badges removed, since often they are warm and hard-wearing,” said Perrier.
The collected clothes were sorted by volunteers at Grace Cornubia – discarding what was not useful or clean, making small repairs, and dividing into different types and sizes. “Thank you to the volunteers who tirelessly worked last Saturday to get us ready for the Street Store,” said Perrier.
The good service and work of volunteers, such as Molly Blake, was also appreciated by Lebo Shembe who said, “I am 100% happy. I have never been treated so well.” Her sentiments were shared by Florence Attwell. “These people are so cute and so kind. They are doing such a good job,” she said after being served by Savie Naidoo from Grace Church.
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