Shared Space was set up by our sister Baptist church, Church from Scratch. It’s a growing Christian network of charity shops across Southend and beyond, transforming lives through volunteering, training and funding local good causes. It is the good news of Jesus expressed in action and words.
Leigh Road Baptist Church has helped Shared Space from when it started back in 2010. We’ve held regular ‘Donation Sundays’ where members of the church have donated a veritable mountain of goodies for Shared Space. They are distributed to one of the three Shared Space charity shops to be sold by their team of 85 active volunteers.
But what’s so different about Shared Space? Unlike other charity shops, the volunteers in each individual shop decide where to distribute grants to support good causes in the area around that shop. And it’s not your usual mix of volunteers – many of the volunteers are marginalised or fragile people who are being supported, trained up and encouraged as part of a tight-knit team of caring volunteers.
Peter Dominey, chair of Shared Space trustees, says, “Thanks LRBC for supporting us. You can read lots of the volunteer stories and how to donate goods to our charity shops at the new website www.charityshop.co”
Find out all about the Shared Space charity shops on their brand new website at www.charityshop.co