The Forest Farms thrift store is officially open for business, and the residents couldn’t be happier
The Forest Farm thrift store officially opened on October 5, turning it into a fun day for the centre’s residents, staff, and members of the Sandton community who popped in to browse what the store had to offer, and maybe learnt a little something at the same time.
The official opening of the new thrift store at Forest Farms Centre turned into a fun day for residents at the care centre for adults with cerebral palsy conditions, and special needs.
Read more: Forest Farm Centre opening shop for Sandton thrifters
The care centre’s thrift shop, first announced in the Sandton Chronicle edition from the week ending September 13, finally opened its doors to the public on October 5.
The energy at the usually serene residency ratcheted up several spots as residents and their caretakers danced in celebration of their home’s latest step in the direction of sustainability.
Tayla Shaw (25) and Abbey Fletcher are the two young women whose lives have become interwoven with Forest Farm through their years of volunteering at the centre. At the event, Shaw celebrated the traffic generated for Forest Farm through the launching of the thrift store.
“So many people come past us and just have no idea what this place is. So, today’s mostly for visibility, and letting people know that this is Forest Farm,” Shaw said, admiring the number of guests. “You can see how many cars we have here today. I don’t think there’s been this many cars on the property before. It’s crazy.”
Also read: Meet Forest Farm’s oldest volunteer, Val White
For Shaw, who is finishing off her psychometry studies at the University of Johannesburg, the thrift store isn’t her first experience in retailing used good.
“I used to sell second-hand furniture before doing this, as a side hustle to help get me through as a student,” Shaw said, excitedly. “We’re looking at expanding the social media account that we’ve got. We, especially, want to put our stuff on the Facebook market page, where one can get a lot of views, and so many hits if you just price items right. There’s always going to be somebody who wants what you have out there.”
Shaw concluded on the importance of taking a little time in one’s week to visit the shop for the opportunity to learn from Shaw and Fletcher.
“Coming to our shop definitely can be a learning experience, especially through interacting with myself and Abbey – because we know the residents well, having been here for a while,” Shaw closed. “We are planning on putting a course together on training people to volunteer at homes for persons with disabilities, as another way of spreading awareness as well.”
Shaw works at the store over weekends, and manages online sales, while Fletcher operates the store on week days from late mornings to early afternoons.
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