Well, the awful flu season is with us once again and already our staff and volunteers have been affected, including our manager Sonia and I, at one point there was nine of us out for the count. Being short of staff makes it very difficult for the remaining members trying to keep the shop working well.
Colds, coughs and also the flu is so easily spread that we respectfully ask that everyone practises good personal hygiene and carries tissues and hand sanitizer if you have an annoying cough or cold. Last week our poor cashier was coughed and sneezed on so many times that she actually used a whole can of Glen 20 around her counter. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Stay Healthy.
Once again we are having problems with the theft of donations overnight during weekdays, so we have had to bite the bullet and close the gates every afternoon after the shop closes. We also have a problem with people actually going through all our rubbish and larger industrial bins in the middle of the night. These bins have broken glass and crockery, soiled clothing as well as many other undesirable items in them, our cameras show people dragging soiled clothes out of the bins, this is so unhygienic and also dangerous as broken glass can do a lot of damage.
Please refrain from searching through our bins. Due to this problem we have decided to continue our fence around the back of the property enclosing all the bins and shed, this will be at great expense and also cause inconvenience to many of our wonderful donators of goods. We will eventually only be able to receive goods from 7.30 am until 3 pm Monday to Friday and 7 am to noon on Saturday. If you are unable to bring the goods to us during that time please call Sonia on 3408 1014 or email [email protected] for a free pick up by our drivers. We are sincerely sorry for any inconvenience this will cause in the future but it is a case of the few affecting the many.
Our manager has ordered some more clothing racks and shelves which arrived in Brisbane this week, so hopefully, these will be installed over the next few weeks. Once these are in place there will be more room for both winter and summer clothing and a permanent place for hats, scarves and belts. Certain areas will be moved around hopefully for the last time, allowing customers to get familiar with the layout of the shop floor. I have also placed an order for reusable shopping bags which are due to arrive at the end of June when plastic bags will no longer be available.
We have quite a few of plastic bags in the shop but once they are gone it will be impossible to get more, so we suggest you bring a bag with you if possible. Last month we were pleased to give some much-needed grants away, the Bribie Island Kindergarten needed a piece of equipment to assist non-verbal children, they were also in great need of new flooring for the classroom.
Hopefully, the new flooring will be installed soon. We have supported Bribie Island Diabetes Support group for many years now and we have been able to grant 20 places for the Kids to Camp Programme 2018. This camp has helped so many children over the years, here they are with kids like themselves who live with diabetes, making so many friends while learning more about diabetes.
The Banksia Beach Primary school has started a new program called “Books before the Bell”, teachers throw cushions and blankets out and bring boxes of books out for children to read before class. They have encouraged siblings to help the younger children and have also involved parents and teachers. They were in need of trolleys and books and we have granted this wish. We thank all our donators and also our customers for the generosity, without you, we would not be able to grant the many wishes that we receive, we also thank our staff and many volunteers for all their hard work throughout the year too.
If you are a member of an island club or association and require assistance please let us know. We try to assist all not for profit associations and sporting clubs, we also assist the police, SES, VMR and the BI Hospice. Our President Karen is quite happy to come along to your club and present our aims and goals and how your club can apply for assistance.
Please call 3410 1920 or email [email protected] if you wish to have a presentation or if you wish to apply for a grant of assistance. We still have continuing sales. There is 50% off prints and some kitchenware at the moment, but our sales change constantly depending on the items we have, when the number of books increases we have a bag of books for $5.
Furniture also is often on sale if we get in a large number of lounges. So please come down and check out the bargains. Once again we would like to thank Richard and his gang at The Bribie Islander for their continued support of us and also the island community. Hope to see you in the shop soon. Sandra
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