Timmins seniors' residence opens in-house thrift shop
The people who reside at Spruce Hill Lodge in the South Porcupine area of Timmins are enjoying a new and exclusive retail experience.
Norman Gernat, a resident at Spruce Hill Lodge in South Porcupine, enjoys shopping at the new thrift shop located in the facility. He said it makes him "more mobile." June 2/23 (Lydia Chubak/CTV Northern Ontario)
It's a private thrift store with the added benefit of a personal shopper.
She's Tammy Picard, the resident coordinator at the lodge.
Picard said she had a hunch people who live in the retirement community might enjoy the opportunity to shop closer to home.
"A lot of them don’t go out and a lot of them look for something to do," she said.
"The activities are always full, so I thought let’s do you know who doesn’t like retail therapy and I thought 'Why can’t they have it here?'"
Picard along with the help of her parents, transformed an unoccupied room in the facility into a mini-mall with a variety of items for women and men.
Complete with a shopping cart, change room and check-out counter, the store is fully equipped to serve shoppers.
Resident Bernadette Miron said she just loves it.
"I don’t have to go out and get our clothes, they’re right over here and it’s beautiful," Miron said.
"I just bought some new stuff."
Another resident, Norman Gernat, said getting to this thrift shop helps make him more mobile.
"I’m able to get around and make a selection, make a purchase and keep myself well dressed," he said.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Every dollar goes back into funding the residence, which is a not-for-profit organization.
"Our shirts are 50 cents, our pants are $1," said Picard.
"You know they’re all on a pension and rent is expensive as well you know and so it was important for me that they could still feel that they’re buying their own things," she said.
"And it’s not a give out because a lot of them have pride."
Picard said there's even a lineup to get through the door since only four people can shop at a time, twice a week.
Anyone who wishes to donate suitable items to the Spruce Hill Lodge Thrift Shop can contact the office. Picard said the community has already been generous.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.