Business

Refresh Your Wardrobe and Help an Orphanage

The Swap Shop will be open in the Strand Shopping Centre from August 25 to 28.

Published

3 years ago

19/08/2023

This coming week will see a store with a difference in Douglas, with all the money raised going towards supporting an orphanage in Arusha, Tanzania.

The Swap Shop has been devised by Minna Perup, Marketing Manager at Capital International Group and is part of the company’s Huruma Project.

When the Group’s chairman Anthony Long went on a trip to climb Kilimanjaro with his son Alex and friends from London, they visited the Huruma Orphanage which was facing eviction as the lease on its land was coming to an end, which Anthony found ‘devastating’.

He said: ‘It was clear that the work that the orphanage team do is vital and the positive atmosphere they have managed to create, despite the situations the children are faced with, is truly incredible.

‘We decided there and then that, if we could, we wanted to prevent the orphanage from closing. Six months later, we successfully negotiated the purchase of the land and buildings and today we have a great team of volunteers preparing to travel out to Tanzania to work on upgrading the facilities and spend time with the children.’

To go on the visit, staff at Capital International Group were required to explain what their motivations were for applying and what they could bring to the project to refurbish the orphanage.

Minna is one of those who was chosen and, as part of the effort to raise £25,000 across the team, she is opening the Swap Shop over the bank holiday week from the 25-28^th of August.

She said: ‘I’ve held a Swap Shop twice before with friends and I absolutely love the idea of someone’s trash becoming another person’s treasure. It’s great that no matter what your size or style, you always walk away with something, whether its clothing, shoes, accessories – there’s something for everyone!

‘With the way the cost of living has skyrocketed, buying new clothing has become a luxury many can no longer afford. I believe that everyone deserves to feel good and confident in what they are wearing, and the Swap Shop provides an opportunity to refresh your wardrobe, without having to spend a fortune.’

‘We all have items sat gathering dust in the back of our wardrobes and the Swap Shop is the perfect way to have a clear out of the things you no longer want or need in a way that benefits others.’

‘The way it works is that people can bring their clothes to the Swap Shop and receive two tokens per item (up to a maximum of 14 tokens). Each token is worth £1 and can be used to get free clothes in store or to contribute towards purchases. People who don’t have any clothes to donate can also shop in store. On each rail there will be a suggested monetary donation amount.’

Minna isn’t kidding when she says there is something for everyone. Having started with her colleagues, she has amassed an array of clothes, some that still have the tags on, having never been worn. In total she estimates over 1,500 items are ready to hit the rails on the bank holiday weekend.

While the group needs to raise £25,000 between them, Minna has set herself the ambitious target of raising £5,000 across the bank holiday weekend with the Swap Shop.

She said: ‘I know it’s an ambitious target, but with new Swap shop items coming in across the weekend and with good quality clothes already gathered, I think this will be a great event for both the charity and the community.

‘Even if each customer spends £1 or £2, I think it’s the volume of people coming into the shop that will make the difference.’

The Swap Shop will be open in the Strand Shopping Centre from August 25 to 28.

Capital employees going to Tanzania: