Re: Sadness expressed for Nu2U's impending closure in Olds
A sad day for the community of Olds. As a concerned citizen, I would like to address each of your reasons for closing this wonderful enterprise which has provided volunteer opportunities for many citizens in Olds plus the ability to recycle quality items which the donating person no longer uses but the purchaser thoroughly treasurers.
1. “Costs more to operate” - If this is true, then perhaps you could close the section where the local newspaper used to operate out of. This alone would cut the cost of rental in half. The store did well for many years without that part of the building. There are other places in town that deal with furniture that is gently used.
2. "Competes with local businesses” - This may be true but they also provide the best quality of used goods. I and others have found “just what I was looking for” on more than one occasion in regards to something we could not find anywhere else. A friend recently stated that she has donated many quality items here and has purchased lots of quality items.
3. "A volunteer retired who did snow removal, waste removal and building maintenance” - Was any advertising done to replace this person? Perhaps more than one person would have been willing to take on one or more of these tasks.
4. “People are looking for clothing” - This reason was given to a volunteer at Nu2U. Each of the other Thrift type stores in town offer clothing, so Nu2U does not need to address this type of item for sale.
5. Many people new to town find it hard to start up a household. They have enough for their rent but are looking for something affordable to stock the house with essentials. They find it at Nu2U and are so grateful.
6. This store has boosted the self esteem of so many people -- people who are either customers or volunteer staff.
This enterprise has provided $332,421 to many, many community groups in town. Those of us who have received financial help in this way have thoroughly appreciated it, as perhaps we could not get necessary funding at the time in any other way.
These grants have enabled residents of Olds (donors of used goods) to help other residents of Olds (receivers of donations). If you were to cut back a bit on the amount of grants being given out, would this not help to defray the cost of rental?
To quote another citizen, “The traffic that this store brings to downtown Olds is unbelievable.” The community support for 'recycling' - the donations, the volunteers should continue in its present location, if at all possible.
This store embodies the best of ‘community’ and the Town of Olds should be so very proud and be recognized for their support of something that does so much good in a community. To shut down something so good in downtown is a very short-sighted decision.
There is a wealth of volunteers in our community. I feel the Town of Olds can be proud of their citizens for the way they volunteer with so many various organizations and charities in town.
Are we not showing a lack of support for all those people when we start closing down. Nu2U has been more than a “labour of love” for the volunteers. It has been a way for these people to give back to the community that they love.
This is a “diamond” in our community. Please don’t let it disappear without pursuing all options.
Karen Mengersen,
Olds
