Trash Palace's record year for donations
Trash Palace volunteers, from left: Ina Pearson, Nikita Meares, Nancye Heenan (with baby Abby), Belinda Fleming, Fiona Wilson (seated), Heather JordAn and Christine Fleming. Photo: Ina Holst.
The unsung lady heroes of Trash Palace donated an in-house record-smashing $12,000 to charities last year, among them Altrusa House, the rescue helicopter and the New Zealand Blood Services. In comparison to the $5,190 donated in 2003, this amounted to a tremendous achievement over the years, said volunteer Nikita Meares.
With 15 years under her belt, Nikita is the longest-serving volunteer at Trash Palace, and she talks with pride of the nine ladies who consistently donate their time to the second-hand clothing shop to make it tick over smoothly.
“At first we were just a group of housewives who wanted to escape from the housework. But over the years we’ve been building up Trash Palace,learning a lot of new skills, and become a strong group who wants the place to survive.”
Monthly meetings are used to discuss and solve any problems and to promote the shop. One of the biggest problems yet to be solved remains the dumping of rubbish at the premises, says Nikita. In 2008, Trash Palace spent over $1,000 getting rid of people’s refuse.
Luckily, the economic crisis has not stalled the flow of discarded garments. When the seasons change a whole new set of clothes tends to appear, and recessionistas can browse through a wide selection of fashions.
“It’s shocking what one human being needs to not go naked,” Nikita muses. “Bedding is also always in demand and kids’ clothes and old-fashioned dresses, which some clever people turn into fashionable clothes.”
Every inch of material is recycled. Unwanted garments are cut up into cotton rags and sold to workshops and garages, and left-over buttons are saved for handcraft enthusiasts. Baby clothes are washed by the volunteers and sent to the hospital’s maternity ward, and cutting edge quilters use the funky material scraps.
“We have customers who come from over the hill to shop at Trash Palace because we don’t charge by the item—for $5 you can fill a whole bag.”
And, of course, Trash Palace is much more than just a second-hand shop, says Nikita. “There are all those people who come in here for a chat.”
At a meeting last Wednesday, the volunteers came up with a modest wishlist: more reliable volunteers; no more rummaging through the bags left over the weekend; the use of green shopping bags instead of less-environmentally friendly plastic bags, and more requests from local organisations which want to be supported by Trash Palace. Volunteers please enquire at the Workcentre Trust.
Ina Holst
