Official Opening of the ADRA Op Shop Morisset

“There was a massive turnout – over 600 people came!” – Cas Foster, ADRA Op Shop Morisset Manager.

When Cas Foster put up a Facebook post on the ADRA Op Shop Morisset page on Saturday night, she imagined she would reach a couple of thousand people if she was lucky. With no funding to “boost” her post, she certainly wasn’t expecting to wake up on Sunday morning, the day of the official Op Shop opening, to see that over 40,000 people had seen her post.

By 8am on Sunday 2 August, Cas and her team of dedicated volunteers were opening their doors to the public for the first time. And they had an overwhelming number of people turn out to the grand opening.

“There were a buzz of people coming, and a long line of people very patiently waiting to buy goods,” says Cas.

With tight COVID restrictions, the Op Shop volunteers diligently ensured each customer was socially distanced and included in their COVID log, hand sanitiser was used, and COVID signage and arrows were placed around the store. But with social distancing and limits on the number of people allowed in store, the team ended up with a very long line and customers parked one kilometre up the street. The line of cars drew so much attention that passersby stopped to see what all the fuss was about.

“We had people coming who didn’t even know what they were coming to see!” says Cas.

Cas and her team of volunteers moved from Tuggerah to Morisset after a series of events. When their lease expired, rather than re-signing, the team looked to move to Morisset.

“I really felt God brought us here,” Cas says. “The move has been such a blessing. We had a lot of people come through and had a lot of people buy things.”

To keep up to date with everything happening at the ADRA Op Shop Morisset, from goods available to opening hours, follow them on Facebook.

You can visit the ADRA Op Shop Morisset at 19 Gateway Boulevard, MORISSET NSW 2265.