New shop brings good news to Katoomba
ANGLICARE Sydney celebrated the official opening of its first community store in the heart of Katoomba on Wednesday 11 November 2009.
In partnership with, St Hilda’s Anglican Church in Katoomba, the new store will provide more than just quality second hand clothing at affordable prices to the Katoomba community.
While it is still important to be financially viable, unlike many other commercial enterprises it’s not the sole purpose of the new store. According to Ray Robinson, Rector at St Hilda’s, this will be no ordinary shop.
“The main agenda of the shop is not to make a buck, it’s great if we do and the money will go to support great Anglicare ministries like our chaplains serving at jails,” Ray says.
“The main agenda is to care for people in our community. This shop will be a place people can come and be referred to Anglicare services and other ministries of the church that they may need.”
Recent reports uncovered levels of family income significantly lower than the national average in the Blue Mountains. In addition, Katoomba is the only suburb in the Blue Mountains to have significantly higher rates of mental disability and behavioural disorders for 15-24 year olds than the state average.
Highlighting the existence of the significant social needs in the Katoomba area, Peter Kell, ANGLICARE CEO says the new shop was not only providing a way for the local parish to reach the community, but also creating a platform from which other ANGLICARE services could be launched into the upper Blue Mountains.
“Looking forward, we are exploring the potential for new community care services to be launched into the Katoomba area in conjunction with the shop and parishes,” says Mr Kell.
“At present there is scope for a couple of programs to be introduced into Katoomba with the support of the local churches. For example, whilst the possibility of a full scale emergency relief service into the mountains is being explored, we can support and train St Hilda’s parishioners to establish a parish food ministry with food supplies supplemented through our Mt Druitt community care centre. There is also a possibility of a satellite counselling service in Katoomba operating from St Hilda’s.”
St Hilda’s is already set to run a parenting workshop at the new store on 26 November and Ray says it is just the beginning of an ongoing partnership they are looking forward to developing further.
The shop is managed by a member of St. Hilda's who is supported by volunteers from the parish.
“We want to help in any way we can as there are many needs in our community [and] people who come to this shop will get more than they bargained for,” promises Ray.
The new shop is located at 195C Katoomba Street, Katoomba NSW.
