Murray Bridge’s Lifeline shop prepares to close
The operators of the Adelaide Road charity shop have announced that they will soon cease trading.
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After 26 years in business, Murray Bridge’s Lifeline shop will close next month.
The op shop on Adelaide Road has struggled with a lack of volunteers since COVID-19 arrived, and the cost of keeping it open has been rising.
With the lease on its present premises due to expire in October, Lifeline South East decided – reluctantly – that it would have to close down, for now at least.
Lifeline South East CEO Leah Griffin thanked the community for its support, as well as the shop’s staff and volunteers, “without whom we could not have continued as long as we did”.
Coordinator Lorraine Leckie said the Lifeline shop had been a social outlet for volunteers and visitors alike.
It would be missed, volunteer Robyn Bensch said.
“They come in for a chat, to see someone, to know someone cares,” she said.
“We’ve all made friends and we’ve all got our regulars.”
Two of its volunteers – Irene Mitchell and Betty Galbraith – had kept working there into their 80s.
“(But) I think it’s just a sign of the times,” Ms Leckie said.
“Unless we get more volunteers, places can’t stay open.”
A closing-down sale will begin on August 31, and the shop will likely close its doors around the end of September.
It will remain open from 10am-4pm on weekdays, as usual, until then.
Any leftover stock will be distributed to other Lifeline stores, including the one at Tailem Bend.
Murray Bridge’s Lifeline shop was previously located on Railway Terrace, and before that at the shopping complex on Mannum Road when its main tenant was a Bi-Lo supermarket.
Funds raised through Lifeline shops help maintain a 24-hour telephone support service for people at risk of suicide or self-harm; financial counselling and gambling help services; outreach programs to prisoners, people living alone and those bereaved by suicide; and education and training programs.
Murray Bridge’s other op shops include the Salvation Army stores on Adelaide Road and Third Street; Vinnies on Second Street; the Hangar op shop on Fifth Street; the DVINA centre on Standen Street; the Uniting Church thrift shop, which opens on Wednesdays; and the op shop at the Anglican cathedral, on Thursdays and Fridays.
- Get help: Call Lifeline on 13 11 14, visit www.lifeline.org.au or, in an emergency, call 000.
- Volunteer: Visit southeast-sa.lifeline.org.au/volunteer, call 8723 2299 or email office@lifelinesa.org.au.
- Donate to Lifeline: southeast-sa.lifeline.org.au/donate.
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