Penny Garvan started an op shop in Stratford to raise funds for kids to attend school camps, now she says it's clothing most of the Taranaki town.
Penny opened the shop in a small church building after noticing secondhand items were becoming unaffordable.
The most anyone will pay in St Andrews op shop is $1.
Her logic is simple.
"Everyone that walks in the door is equal. Everyone that walks in the door can get something," she told 1 NEWS Good Sorts reporter Hadyn Jones.
Hadyn found Skye waiting outside for the shop to open.
"I've got four kids. So clothing them, and being a single mum, is hard with the budget," she said.
The staff are volunteers who came in when they needed help themselves - and never left.
The shop where everything is no more than $1 makes "thousands, thousands. And it increases every year," Penny said.
It all goes to local kids so they can attend camps and pay for technology.
Aaron, the local school principal says, it’s a real help.
"It makes a massive difference."
To say thanks, the school's students made a clothing bin to collect clothes for the op shop.
"My main purpose was to just send kids to camp, and now we are clothing most of Stratford," Penny said.
"It's just bigger than I ever imagined."
SHARE ME