have you visited since we remodelled?

Remodelling is almost complete and we would like to thank all our wonderful customers for their patience during our crazy shinnanigans (aka the shop refit). 

The refit has been a huge success, with more people than ever visiting our humble little shop since we reopened with our new floorplan.  We have been receiving many compliments from people visiting ever since!

There is more space to walk around inside, our fitting room has moved, and our front window has had a complete transformation with new shelving which allows us to display many more items than we ever could have dreamed of !!

I must try to remember to take some pictures and upload them to the blog and the website!

Right now I only have this picture, which was taken Thursday night after many hours of frustration trying to assemble the shelves that form the new window display...

The window display is constantly changing as things are sold and new items are donated or unearthed from storage.

Recent new additions to the shelves include some great science fiction novels by Robin Hobb,  Lian Hearn and many many more (we received about 2 full boxes of sci fi books so if this is your genre, please pop in and have a look - we have many that don't even fit on the shelves yet!).

So if you haven't popped in recently please call by and tell us what you think of our new look shop! 

renovation rescue!!

We will be closed on Thursday 14th while some fairly BIG stuff is delivered, and the shop is literally pulled to pieces in the process. 

Hopefully we'll have everything back to standard on Friday for you to come in & see what's been unleashed!

all the cool people come to Sandlewood Op Shop.... seriously!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of having Katie in our shop. 

Katie is a personal style blogger and has created the blog Be Inspired. 

Her blog aims to "teach you a thing or two about how easy it is to be fabulous, confident and stylish, on any budget".

She's also a guest blogger for MTV fora.
Last month Katie bought a great jacket from the shop, which you can read all about by clicking here

Her next piece will also feature another purchase from the shop, so be sure to check it out.

slacker

I'm sure it can't just be me who finds these colder months harder to cope with. Seriously.
I get so slack that many things that I can keep up with in the warmer months (like blogging) go by the wayside.  Perhaps it's because my fingers are like tiny little icy-poles while I type this blog post ...

So, yeah, I've been really slack with blogging lately. Hopefully that will all change soon.

So much has been happening at the shop. If you've popped in recently you would have noticed that we no longer have the adjoining shop :(   Sadly that's been taken over by office space.

Our tiny little shop is literally bursting at the seams while we try to cram everything from 1.75 shops down to just 1.  

We are in the process currently of looking for new shopfittings to refit the shop. 
Well, when I say new I mean new to us... it's silly of me to dismiss the fact that we are an op shop and funds are tight so we'll probably end up with someones second or third hand fittings - it's all about recycling!

So hopefully in the next few weeks you will see a transformation take place.
From crowded & cluttered to slightly more spacious and organised.  That will mean that all our regular suspects like the books, shoes and toys that we keep getting asked about daily, should be able to be moved back in to the shop. 

So please bear with us while we make some big changes to our little place!

current appeals

Just to give you a quick update these are the current appeals we have running :

1. Gift Cards for Flood Clients & Disadvantaged Clients
We give clients these gift vouchers/cards to enable them to buy specific requirements such as (but not limited to) groceries, petrol, personal items such as new underwear etc. We can't always have things in every size, so this means if we can give them a gift card they can get exactly what they need when they need it ie. NOW!

2. Beanies, Gloves & Mittens for remote Indigenous Community
We have a remote Indigenous community who are in need of warm items such as beanies, gloves and mittens to get them through this winter.  Handknits or shop boughts are welcome.  Also warm clothes such as tracksuits in very good-new condition are also welcomed (Larger sizes requested).

3. Glue Sticks for Community Kindy
We assist a community based non profit kindy who support families at risk and disadvantaged families.  This community-based kindy receives no funding for craft supplies, & are desperate for a large quantity of non-toxic glue sticks for children's craft.  We help them as much as we can with regards to suitable craft supplies, but we don't have any glue sticks!



4. New Ladies and Mens Winter PJs all sizes

Some of our flood affected clients are living in houses with stud walls and concrete floors so badly need warm nightwear. Our rural clients are finding it difficult making ends meet and also find it hard to obtain winter nightwear so we have been giving any suitable donations to those who are struggling.

If you are able to help out with any of these donations, they can be dropped off at Shop 5/407 Beaudesert Road Moorooka or posted to the same address.  

You may see a "no more donations" sign at the front of the store, which is with regards to general donations as at present the shop is undergoing some major alterations and space is at an absolute premium.  Please do not be deterred from dropping in appeal items if you see this sign, however please don't be offended if we can't take your other donations at this time. 






 

Pick us! Pick us!

We'd be ever so grateful if you would vote for us in the Suncorp Back to Business Grants.


It gives us the opportunity to win a $5,000 grant to further assist our community.

As you know, we'll be in it long after the floods - and will continue to help those who need it ;)

Our committment and vision is to improve the quality of lives of our less fortunate community members - flooded or not!

You can vote for us at this page https://suncorpbacktobusiness.com.au/nominations/sandlewood-projects?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d918764601538c5%2C0

1,000 toys appeal deadline rapidly approaches

As you may know we are holding an appeal to get 1,000 new toys for the Fairfield Floods Family Fun Fair on Saturday 16th April.

The event is being run by the Moorooka Lions, and it looks set to be a great fun-filled day with rides, entertainment and food galore (yummo!)

We had been pledged many toys, however many of them were simply not in a condition that we would give away, let alone have Santa deliver.  We have asked for these toys to be NEW and in their original boxes or with original swing tags attached.

Just thought I'd share a few pics of some of the items we have received - this is just a small handful on one of the days where I actually had my phone/camera handy to take pics.

This is one of my favourites - I mean, what kid wouldn't be thrilled to open up their present to find milk bottle lids threaded onto string?!

This poor fellow looked like he'd been in the floods himself :(

And this guy definitely wasn't anywhere near new condition.


So, I'm urging you all, if your children have toys that they have never even taken out of the boxes (mine did!) or you have $10 spare in this weeks pay, please consider buying a toy so we can make these children (who have been through so much) smile!

Don't forget - the jumble sale is this SUNDAY from 7am!!

A big thanks to the Inchcolm Hotel who have generously donated a voucher for : 1 nights accommodation in a Deluxe Suite, Continental breakfast for 1 in Seasalt at Armstrongs, a bottle of bubbly & chocolates on arrival, and a midday checkout. Valid until 20 June 2011. *conditions apply* This will be included in our fundraising efforts on Sunday :)

Visit their website here  http://www.theinchcolm.com.au/  to see this beautiful boutique hotel

Pick us! Pick us!

We'd be ever so grateful if you would vote for us in the Suncorp Back to Business Grants.

It gives us the opportunity to win a $5,000 grant to further assist our community. 
As you know, we'll be in it long after the floods - and will continue to help those who need it ;)
Our committment and vision is to improve the quality of lives of our less fortunate community members - flooded or not!


You can vote for us at this page https://suncorpbacktobusiness.com.au/nominations/sandlewood-projects?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d918764601538c5%2C0

RACQ - are you insured? KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

This blog post goes out to our floodies. 

We have heard that RACQ Insurance is sending out letters stating that people are not covered for damage that occurred during the floods, but offering them a $12,000 cheque as a "good will gesture".  That's one hell of a lot of good will.

Please be aware that if you are not happy with the outcome of your claim you can take the matter further.

However, I believe from my previous work in the insurance industry that by banking that "good will" cheque you are waiving your right to take the matter through to an insurance claim review, or further by taking it to the Insurance Ombudsman.

Please be aware that the Caxton Legal Service are offering free legal advice regarding this matter. I will update the blog with further details as I receive them.  This information was passed to us by staff at the Department of Communities. 

Premiers Relief Fund Round 2 Payments Info

Some great news we found out tonight at our local flood recovery group meeting, thanks to the Department of Communities - is that not only are people whose houses were completely destroyed by the floods eligible for payments this round, but also people whose principal dwelling was a boat or caravan are now eligible.  There are guidelines but you could be eligible for up to $25,000 if your boat or caravan that was your home was destroyed. 

More information can be found by contacting the Department of Communities - they have a drop in centre at the Goprint Building at Woolloongabba just opposite the busway there, and they are also running outreach services at the Yeronga Flood Respite Centre on Thursdays.

Who are you?

Recently, we have had a number of queries regarding our organisation and whether it is affiliated with any other groups.  Sandlewood is a NOT FOR PROFIT (NFP) organisation with no political or religious connections and we are not linked to any other organisations. 

Sandlewood Projects is run by a board of directors and receives no Government of corporate funding. We operate with a Certificate of Sanction under the Collections Act 1966 through the Queensland Department of Justice & Attorney General.

This sanction controls how charities and community purpose organisations conduct appeals for public support or fundraising in Queensland. Any organisation that wants to publicly fundraise for a charitable or community purpose is governed by this Act.

Activities regulated by the Department under the Collections Act 1966 include:

• fundraising appeals
• door-to-door appeals and street collections, and
• commercial appeals on behalf of charities by entrepreneurs

Any person can check the credentials of someone collecting goods or running an appeal to ensure they are legitimate by searching the Office of Fair Trading's website here
http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/check-a-charity-or-association.htm

In our case, you simply enter the Sanction number CP5278 which will show that our Organisation is a REGISTERED ORGANISATION holding a Certificate of Sanction under the Act.

The shop is run entirely by volunteers.  Because of this we have low overheads (rent, power, phone, internet, insurance) and this means we can give back more to the community.

Have you ever wondered?

Just how much of your monetary donation is ending up where it's intended?  
It is an interesting read when you sit down and go through the Annual Report of some of the big Charities.

For example, from the 2009-2010 financial report of one big charity, it shows that through their domestic appeals, donations and sponsorships, they raised  $35,299.  Great effort !! But....

Out of that, almost half  ($17,253) was gobbled up by expenses (presumably things like advertising their appeals etc) leaving only $18,046 of the $35,299 to be distributed to where it was intended....

Interesting stuff....

That's the advantage of donating to a small organisation like us. 
We have very few overheads (rent, insurance, power, phone and internet) so what you donate can help us HELP PEOPLE who need it. 

Did you realise that many of the items that are donated to the shop are actually given away free of charge to people in need? 

Food for thought....

Volunteers still needed for 3 April

Sorry I've been AWOL for a little while.  All for a good cause though.

We have been working hard (long days and into the night) to get the Flood Relief Jumble Sale of the Century by Sandlewood up and running.

We have secured a face painter & roving entertainer, and all the donations for the event have been piled high into storage.  We have received wonderful donations for our auction and raffles, and we've got some great prizes for our tombola. 

It looks to be a wonderful day, hopefully with lots of shoppers! 

If you want to volunteer your time, we still need LOTS of help.  If you can spare a few hours (or the whole day) on Sunday 3rd April to help us raise funds for the flood affected community, please contact us by email sandlewoodopshop at bigpond.com (sorry don't want spam coming out our ears!) or phoning Desley on 3277 3521.

A trip to Brassall State School

Last week we happened to receive two violins at the shop.  They were donated on the premise that we would get them to a school that was inundated in the floods.  When I tried the local school that the donator wanted them to go to - I found that they did not have an instrumental music program, therefore they were no use to them.  I started looking to find an alternative school, who had also been inundated, but also met the requirement of being in a less fortunate socio-econimic area than some of the other local schools which flooded.

I came across (by chance) a page about Brassall State School, who were totally submerged.  They lost their entire music department including all the instruments that are hired to the students in the program.  I spoke with a friend of mine, Katherine, from Hannah's Foundation as they are co-ordinating efforts to re-equip the school's music department.

Today, I went for a drive and took those two violins to Anna (in Admin) at Brassall State School.  She was so appreciative for the donations, but like most flood affected communities, was worried about so many others!  Brassall seem set to be able to replace all their books lost in the floods, and their music program is well on the way to being rebuilt. 

We also delivered to them some other useful items -

Cleaning products that were donated to us by Somerset Environmental Services from South Australia.

also a load of RID Insect Repellant which was donated by Thorley Laboratories.

Anna said that the RID would be very helpful as the kids in grades 5-7 are just setting out on their school camps in the coming weeks.   The cleaning products will replace those lost in the flood and she said the janitors will make good use of them.

New Toy Drive - Fairfield Flood Family Fun Fair

Who wants to help bring smiles to a child's face? We are looking for donations of new toys to hand out to children who have lost their toys in the floods at the Fairfield Floods Family Fun Fair which will be held at Robinson Park, Fairfield Road, Fairfield on 16th April 2011. 

This event is being run by the Moorooka Lions Club and our aim is to make sure ALL the children receive a new toy on the day.

Please see our new facebook page for this event.  We will need help to sort, wrap etc - and will need donations of wrapping paper.

New Toys for Flooded Children - Fairfield Flood Family Fun Fair

Thanks again for your great support!! Please spread the word!

Trent - the 7yr old legend

Picture this - your son is turning 7.  He says he wants to have a birthday party but instead of the people bringing presents for him, he says he wants his friends to bring presents for the kids who lost their things in the floods.

Sounds like a story... but it's not!

Young Trent had his 7th birthday party and that's exactly what he did.  He asked his friends to bring along a gift suitable for a child who had lost their toys in the floods - and his mum brought him all the way to our shop to donate them so they could go directly to flood affected kids.

Here's Trent with his load of goodies for the kids!

Can You HELP? Donations Needed

CAN YOU HELP? 

We are seeking donations which can be auctioned or raffled off .
Donations will be gratefully received from anyone who is able to help us.

We will auction or raffle them off to raise funds for flood survivors at our Jumble Sale of the Century to be held on Sunday 3rd April 2011

Examples of Items which would be ideal are :

Gift Vouchers for things such as -

• Beauty Therapists
• Hairdressers
• Movie Tickets
• Photography Sessions
• Theme Park Entry
• Accommodation

Can you donate your professional services (lawn mowing, accountant services etc).

We will also be accepting donations of goods in NEW CONDITION ONLY to be included, so if you have a party plan business such as Tupperware, Partylite, Learning Ladder or any other such businesses we would appreciate your help!

If you are able to help us out, please email alani@sandlewoodprojects.org.au

Jumble Sale of the Century - Sunday 3rd April

HOT NEWS :

We are holding the Flood Relief JUMBLE SALE OF THE CENTURY on Sunday 3rd April 2011 at MaryMac Community Centre, Ipswich Road Annerley.

For more information, please check out the Jumble Sale's Facebook Page :

2011 Flood Relief "Jumble Sale of the Century" by Sandlewood

Quality of Donated Items

We are blessed to have a wonderful relationship with Givit - Quality Giving Network- an amazing website which was created by Juliette Wright, a mum and strong believer of helping those who need it.

Recently she blogged at Giving, naturally about some of the problems charities face in receiving donated goods.

This blog entry rings so true to us!

We like to think that we can find a home for just about everything.
But there are so many times when we donations, and we literally stand there and look at it wondering "what the?".

With the recent flood, people have been giving us things in droves.  Many wonderful things.

But there's also been more than a fair share of things that absolutely, unequivocally would not pass on to anyone.

We get one solitary wheelie bin for use at the shop as part of our rental agreement.  In the last few weeks this bin has been full to overflowing by Monday afternoon!

There are certain networks that we try to utilise to enable recycling as much as possible. But, there's only so much we can do.

We don't sell rags, so any clothes that are stained, mis-shapen or have holes in them we just have to throw away!!  We often get people donating "things" with bits broken or completely missing - a coffee maker, a juicer, a blender, a vacuum cleaner!! (?) and these things are of no use to us, or any of our customers. 

Last week in particular, we received a donation which was left on our footpath - and left me totally astonished. 

It included (amongst other things)

• a childs' stroller covered in mould
• a childs' beanbag chair - also covered in mould and filthy dirty
• a kettle, which was literally black on the outside from grime
• a mattress for a cot, which had been stripped back to the foam and innersprings (there was no fabric on it and therefore it was a safety risk as a baby could easily get stuck in the springs!)
• a single mattress which was wet and smelt of mould.
• used pillows, that were yellow and smelly

What did this mean for us?  My brother had to take time out of his day to come and load it all into his car, drive it to my house and dump it here - where my husband then spent part of his weekend off work taking loads to the tip!! So not only did it cost us money (to take it to the tip), it also meant that 3 people had to take time out of their day/s to help us get rid of it !!

That said, we are often completely overwhelmed by peoples' generosity and kind giving spirit!

We love nothing more, than opening up donations of lovely clean, freshly laundered items, nic-nacs etc and we love the satisfaction that comes from matching those items up with people who want or need them.

Please, don't stop donating to shops like ours.  Your donations help us to help people who need it.
But please consider what you are donating. 

A friend of mine recently had a fantastic status update on Facebook which I put on our page - but I'm going to share it here too as they are great parting words.

"Please remember, if you are going to donate items, ask yourself "Would I wear this? Would I dress my child in this? Would I use this?". If the answer is no, then it belongs in the bin. People have lost enough, don't try and take their dignity as well."

Our Blog has changed a little

I have been trying hard to keep up with the blogging, but with all the work we've been doing arranging goods for flood affected people, we have been snowed under.

I've wanted for a while to simplify the layout a little, to hopefully make it a little bit easier to read and follow.  Sometimes I blog late at night and although our old template matched our website design, I found that posts seemed to get "lost" in the chaos there.

I hope you all like the changes!!

Please feel free to leave us a comment if you do!

Many THANK YOU's to some generous businesses!

A HUGE THANK YOU to all who have donated items for people in the community who have been affected by the recent floods.


We have several amazingly generous donations, both from individuals and from businesses wanting to help!

We would like to thank the following companies for their recent donations :

Jacqueline Davis and Paragold for the donation of new womens nightwear

John & Ruth Lui of Winalite Australia P/L for the donation of womens sanitary products

Hailey Douglas and Aqueo Import and Distribution Pty Ltd for the donation of new Havaianas

 

Flood CleanUp

I just thought I would share these Post-flood clean up tips, courtesy of Shannon Lush which I think will probably come in handy for a few of our local residents.

With water comes mold, one of the most stubborn offenders to clean up. According to the cleaning genius of Shannon Lush, there are two main weapons; salt and oil of cloves.




To remove mold from soft furnishings, canvas and outside areas (where the salt won't end up in the garden), mix one kilogram of ordinary house salt into one bucket of water. Wash the affected surface, wait until the salt crust forms and brush off with a broom.



But Shannon says the best killer of mould is oil of cloves, available from the chemist or supermarket.



To use oil of cloves as a mold remover:



Add half a teaspoon of oil of cloves to 1 litre of water - no more than that.





Put it into a spray bottle, spray the surface and leave for 20 minutes.

Wipe the surface clean, then re-spray and leave it.

It will take between 24 to 48 hours for the mould spores to die and drop off.

Flood Victims : Damaged Photos

I also got this information via Facebook so thought I would share  - please pass it on :)


URGENT - to save any photographs damaged by flood waters, immerse them in clean fresh water and get them to Inkjet Lab at Bowen Hills ASAP. They will clean, copy and save 50 photos to disk for you at no charge.


Check out this link -  Inkjet Lab Info on Saving Flood Damaged Photos


•Pick out your most important 50 photos before you come in and we will concentrate on these first.


•Choose close family, wedding and pet photos - not travel pics and happy snaps.
•Remove photos from frames as soon as possible so they don't stick to the glass. Please do not bring in frames if possible.
•Rinse everything in clean fresh water and place the photos in sealed plastic bags so they don't dry out and stick together. This does several things, first it reduces the risk of disease and secondly, it make our job a little easier.
•Ring Mark on 0421 599 423 to arrange a time to deliver them.
•This is a limited offer which expires Tuesday the 25th of January. Sorry, we can't help beyond this as we do have our other paying customers to attend to.

Flood Victims : Free Laundromat @ Murrarrie

I just received this via Facebook so thought I would let you know about it - please spread the word

If anyone knows of people in areas impacted by the floods in Brisbane, Fisher and Paykel has set up a free laundromat Murarrie. They have everything there, even the jug will be hot! Doors open at 7am and it will be open until 7pm each day until further notice.


8 Terrace Place
Murarrie

Flooding Victims

Sadly we are already being advised of locals who need our help. 
We're already aware of 2 local families who are in need, and we know there will be more :(

Family 1.
Require boys size 6 clothes, size 14 womens clothes, XXL mens clothes & toys suitable for 3 & 6 year old boys.

Family 2.
A refugee family (mother, father, teenage son) who speak very little English.  We have previously helped them get ALL of the contents of their house when they were moved from Moorooka where they were sharing a unit to their own house at Darra.  As far as I'm aware they have lost everything. 

Once I am aware of what items are needed I will update the blog and facebook page. For those of you who don't know the facebook page is www.facebook.com/sandlewoodopshop

Flood Update

Thankfully we were lucky and the shop did not get flooded. 
However, we are having issues with the safety of our power and may be open ad-hoc from tomorrow. 

I thought I'd add in some pictures of our surrounding areas to show you what we are facing.  These photos are taken in Muriel Avenue, which is the street running off Beaudesert Road very close to the shop.

This first one is Muriel Road - the Rail Underpass which takes you to Sherwood Road Rocklea.

This is the Skate Park next to the Scout Hall in Muriel Avenue (I took this one yesterday and today it's higher again)

John Bright Street - once again this is one I took yesterday and today the water was higher again - I just haven't uploaded those photos from my camera just yet.

Heaton St Salisbury (looking off Beaudesert Rd Overpass at Salisbury) taken approx 7.30am today by Brit Ibanez.

Temporary Shop Closure 12.1.11

As most people would be aware, Queensland is facing it's worst Natural Disaster in many, many years. 

75% of our state has been considered a Natural Disaster Zone and many areas local to the shop are already affected by the floods.

Beaudesert Road near the Motorama 4x4 by More is under water and has been closed.  Muriel Avenue (off which you turn in to get to the shop) is also closed due to flooding. 

Water levels are expected to be greater than in 1974 floods, which, many locals will be aware the water levels did come awfully close to where the shop is (across the road where the safety shop and servo is was underwater).

This is the prediction of the area that will be affected by flooding (in yellow) if you look you'll see that our street is on the prediction map. 

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201101/r700540_5364790.pdf

As a result we are not taking risks, and have closed the shop until the imminent risk of flood waters has passed.

Obviously this is a very trying time - many of our clients in the Yeronga, Rocklea, Fairfield, Sherwood, Tennyson areas will already be affected by flood.  This is the time when our community needs to band together and work as one to help those who need it, so the closing of the shop is not one that we take lightly.