4 September 2015
By Bryan T. Smyth
david@TheCork./ie
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, along with guest of honour four-year-old Tilara Costa Holmes from Midleton, officially reopened Enable Ireland’s new look charity shop on Cork’s North Main Street today, Friday 4th September.
The shop underwent extensive renovations and decoration earlier in the year and reopened its doors in June. To date, the charity report that the works have resulted in a 26% increase in sales and an enhanced customer experience. Profits benefit Enable Ireland’s work with children and adults with disabilities.
The Minister spoke of the importance of Enable Ireland to the people of Cork. He said: “Enable Ireland shops are a great example of what a community can achieve by working together. Donors, staff, customers and volunteers have a common goal to support those children and adults with disabilities living in their communities. In these challenging times, I encourage the people of Cork to help in every way to make this shop a visible landmark for their generosity and commitment to people with disabilities in Cork.”
Tilara has been attending Enable Ireland at the Lavanagh Centre in Ballintemple since 2013. She also attends the specialist pre-school on site at the Lavanagh Centre and took time out to attend the opening.
Chairman of Enable Ireland Donal Cashman said “Enable Ireland’s charity shops provide a valuable community service – a green business, a source of good quality products at affordable prices, a source of employment and a platform for volunteering. Most importantly for us, the shops provide a critical source of income on which we can plan for the future of our services. Over the last decade, Enable Ireland shops have generated over €10million to support our services. Enable Ireland would not be able to provide the much needed services without the support of the retail stores. When Enable Ireland opened its first charity shop 28 years ago, we were pioneers. True to that pioneering spirit, our North Main Street store represents a significant new departure for us with a move away from the traditional perception of charity retailing into a new business model of boutique style charity shop, offering great value and a treasure trove of items waiting to be discovered.”
Enable Ireland Cork provides services to over 610 children and adults, working together with the individuals and their families to provide a range of services that, within available resources, best meet their identified needs.
Donations of clothes, shoes, linen, bric-a-brac and new toys can be made directly into the Enable Ireland shops which are open from 9.30 – 5.30 Monday to Saturday, through Enable Ireland yellow bag house collections, textile banks, or in any TK Maxx store nationwide.
