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Students to set up free pop-up shop on East Hastings
The Street Store will offer shopping spree experience for Downtown Eastside residents
With Christmas around the corner, Christina Wong is on the hunt for some warm clothes and a stash of gently used hats, socks, gloves and mittens.
A blanket or two wouldn’t hurt either, she suggests, if anyone has one to spare for her pop-up Street Store this Sunday in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
“The more donations the better,” Wong, 21, said Friday while handing out flyers to people around 62 East Hastings, a vacant lot where the pop-up store will run under a white tent from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Sunday.
The store will be designed like a clothing shop, with 26 volunteers acting as “sales associates” to help shoppers find sizes and items. But unlike those racing around for last-minute Christmas deals at the mall, those coming into the Street Store won’t have to pay a cent — and will still leave with five items of their choosing.
“It’s different from a clothing drive. The difference is the (people) get to choose and shop,” Wong said. “It’s a shopping spree for them.”
As of Friday, Wong and her team of volunteers had already collected 1,000 items of gently used clothing and a few toys, but said they would like to see more warm accessories, such as toques or scarves. Any items can be dropped off at the site Sunday, although Wong would rather donors come early, before the store opens at 11 a.m.
“I’m very excited,” said Wong, who is also a member of World Vision UBC. “The last two weeks I’ve barely got any sleep but it feels better when you lose sleep over something you’re passionate about.”
It’s not the first time Wong has stepped up to help the less fortunate in the Downtown Eastside. As a teenager, she made her first visit to the neighbourhood to hand out warm blankets to the homeless and said it was “heartwarming.
“When you take the time to interact with them you can learn more about them,” she said. “I was nervous to go there but I was excited at the same time.”
Now, as a third-year UBC student who is transferring to Simon Fraser University this January, Wong said she was inspired to host the Street Store after seeing a post on a friend’s Facebook page. The pop-up store is part of on an international initiative started in Cape Town, South Africa, to bridge the gap between the “have and the have-nots.”
In her latest gift-giving venture, Wong has roped in her friends to help, saying while it’s her 22nd birthday on Tuesday she would prefer to have them celebrate with her at the Street Store.
“I think it will be a good experience for them,” she said, adding she is extremely grateful for their help as well as the support from World Vision UBC, which rounded up volunteers and the Downtown Eastside Street Market, which secured the site.
“I feel like many of use are very privileged and because of that we always have something to give.”
Wong said she hopes to see a big crowd Sunday. As she handed out flyers to those in the Downtown Eastside Friday, one man said he would be there for sure because “I need a new pair of shoes.” |
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發表於 2014-12-20 06:40
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