Good causes in the region are in for a massive boost with over 1100 hours of volunteering time donated to charities following the success of The Kinder Shop in Dumfries last week.
The one day shop in the Loreburn Centre offered people the chance to pay for luxury items with kindness – by volunteering a suggested number of hours at a local charity.
Garden furniture, hampers, toys and children’s bikes could all be ‘bought’ by people pledging to put some graft in to support local groups.
The event caused quite a stir in Dumfries last week and now charities can look forward to some much needed extra support over the summer, much of it from people who have not been involved in volunteering before.
The Massive Outpouring of Love (MOOL) project, for example, will be receiving 45 hours of help with sorting and packing items for refugees.
Mossburn Community Farm will benefit from 73 hours of support for their animal shelter and the Queen of the South Trust has had 17 hours of volunteering pledged to help at their food bank and with ground maintenance.
Other charities taking part included Kate’s Kitchen, The Bridge, Sustain Scotland and Mossburn Community Farm.
Julie Smith, trustee with the Massive Outpouring of Love project which helps refugees, was delighted to find new volunteers through The Kinder Shop.
“The time people are volunteering will be a huge help to us and I couldn’t resist making a ‘purchase’ whilst I was there. I got this lovely oak chair for which I will be volunteering some time to help with the Food Train to help people with their shopping,” she said.
The shop was also visited by Provost Tracey Little who praised the project. “I think it’s such a wonderful way to highlight local charities and encourage more people to get involved with volunteering,” she said.
The purpose of The Kinder Shop is to show what a difference kindness can make in communities.
The Cumberland Building Society is funding the project as part of its campaign to promote kindness.
Phil Ward, brand manager with The Cumberland, said: “It has been humbling to see how people have responded to this idea and given their time so generously.
“We wanted to show what a difference kindness can make in the community and the people of Dumfries have responded magnificently.”
