Newark Neighbours getting close to moving date

Newark Neighbours is getting closer to moving to its new location, which will offer the local food bank and thrift store an area three times the size of what it has now — space it very much needs.

Cindy Grant, chair of Newark Neighbours, says their client list continues to grow, with more than160 adults and children requiring help from the food bank.

Although the large front portion of the Virgil location, formerly Lincoln Interiors, will be dedicated to the thrift store, the size of the food bank at the back will be tripled as well, says Grant, along with a new room specifically designed for client intake. Both are entered through a side door, allowing privacy for clients.

“The culture will change with this space,” Grant adds, as each area is not only more spacious but also more defined and separate for those using the food bank, and for volunteers to carry out their work.

The inside construction is well underway, much brighter with fresh paint, and the original terrazzo floor, now covered for protection from the ongoing work, has been refinished, says Grant, who is pleased with how well it turned out.

Last week the team of Newark Neighbours volunteers, some of whom have been helping out on John Street for more than 20 years, had its first meeting at the new location, says Grant. “The team is really excited to see this happen,” she says. Change can be difficult, she acknowledges, “but everyone is really embracing this. They are saying thank you, they’re grateful for having more space, and feeling it will be a good move, a good change.”

Grant is also pleased with the way the work is progressing, and envisioning its completion. She can picture a donor plaque on the side wall near the front, to be seen as people enter, and a beautiful wooden counter for checking out sales from the thrift shop.

There are slat walls designed for hanging things, the racks and shelving are ordered for the thrift shop and food bank spaces, so everything will have its place. And a day has been put aside for Rotary Club of Niagara-on-the-Lake members who have volunteered their help to arrive in force and assemble the fixtures.

Those who have visited the current John Street location will be able to picture volunteers behind the counter in a tiny space at the front sorting donated items as they arrive, then trying to find somewhere to put them in the small, crowded area that is the thrift shop.

Behind the new Virgil thrift shop will be an entire room to sort — volunteers are really excited about that, says Grant. It will be closed off from the rest of the space, but with one-way windows that allow volunteers to work while keeping an eye on the store out front.

The plan for the next few weeks, if work proceeds as expected, will be for the doors of Newark Neighbours on John Street to close to the public for the week beginning Monday, June 26, when volunteers will pack in preparation for the move, and then unpack and fill all the new shelves and racks. Two Men and a Truck will do the moving, says Grant. And again, if everything goes according to plan, Tuesday, July 4 will be “a soft opening” for the public.

Those who rely on the food bank will be informed ahead of time about the closure, but with food typically picked up by clients every two weeks, waiting for the reopening won’t be a problem, says Grant.

Volunteers are still needed, she says, not for the move, which is covered, but for the new space once it is open and operating.

With so much extra space and sectioned-off rooms, the process of the work will be a little different, with more assigned tasks rather than everyone pitching in together, and also extra hours of opening, including Saturdays and Sundays, and Thursday evenings. Volunteers now working at Newark Neighbours already have their days, and will likely continue them, “but we will need extra people to staff those extra shifts.”

Scheduling is flexible, and anyone interested in a volunteer application form can visit newarkneighbours.ca/volunteers.

For more information or to discuss volunteering, email [email protected].

A celebratory official opening is likely to be mid- to late July, Grant says, with a firm date “to be determined.”