CHARITY shop staff and volunteers are brushing up on their restoration skills with a seasonal spruce of their stock and premises.
St T’s Superstore is to undergo a mini makeover at its site on McMullan Road, Darlington.
The unit provides thousands of square feet of retail space, warehousing, a distribution centre, an eBay department, as well as facilities to sort, renovate and restore a host of donated goods.
One of ten outlets across the region, it helps raise the £3m needed each year to fund St Teresa’s Hospice’s work to provide free care and support for residents of Darlington, South West Durham and North-Yorkshire who are affected by life-limiting illness.
Head of retail Marjorie McIntyre said: “St T’s Superstore is fast approaching its second anniversary and we felt it was the right time to give the shop floor a new look for spring.
“Installing new fixtures and fittings, a fresh coat of paint and new dedicated sales areas will help keep the shop looking fresh and help keep us up to date with the latest retail trends.”
The new look store will include a feature mirror wall, new slatted wall mounts for displaying paintings and wall hangings and an upgrade to its bestselling furniture restoration department.
Store manager Jonathan Fenwick said: “St T’s really has exceeded all expectations since we opened. Our house clearance department continues to grow across Darlington and North Yorkshire, we have had volunteers join us on the shop floor, in our warehouse, helping with our Facebook and eBay sites and in our furniture restoration department and we are always happy for more volunteers to join us.
“We continue to receive fabulous donations from the public, from genuine antiques to 21st century technology.”
St T’s furniture restorer Tony Dowson, 59, of Darlington, added: “I came here initially as a volunteer but because of the popularity of the painted furniture I’m now working here part-time.
“My wife was a volunteer for St Teresa’s before she passed away from cancer in 2006 and it gives me real satisfaction to know that every penny from every item that we restore, refurbish and resell goes to help people who really need it.”
St T’s is open Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm and Sunday, 10am to 4pm. It is manned outside these hours to accept donations. Free car parking is available in front of the store.
To volunteer to help in sales, distribution or restoration contact the superstore on (01325) 488701 or St Teresa’s Hospice on (01325) 254321.