A CHARITY shop in Dalry is helping raise £40,000 a year for St Margaret’s Parish Church.

And it’s the dedication of parishioner Jean Rodger and her team of devoted volunteers who work each day in the shop that see the church funds boosted each year.

The shop has been running for 28 years, since German teacher Jean retired from the classroom.

Now her time is devoted to running the busy shop in the heart of Dalry town centre.

The shop keeps its prices low to help those in the community who are struggling and now welcomes people from all over Ayrshire who have heard about its extensive collection of clothes, household items and books.

“We opened the shop to help our church, it’s such a big building and it takes so much to support it and the shop is a way of helping do that,” explained Jean, 88.

“We keep the prices low to make sure that the people in this area can come in and find a book or clothes or something for their home, we have so many nooks and crannies, people always find something.”

Books cost only 30 pence and dresses £1, coats cost £1.50 and the shop also has a collection of Silver Cross prams and buggies.

Jean went on: “We have been busier than ever since lockdown was eased, people are dropping off donations and although we are only open for a couple of hours a day, it’s non-stop.

“We take in around £40,000 a year for the church and I would like to thank everyone who supports our wee shop.

“It’s important that the community knows that we are here to help.”

The charity shop at the Cross is deceptively large inside.

From the outside it looks like a small venue but the shop boasts three rooms full of second hand items as well as a hallway filled with bikes, prams and furniture too.

Jean went on: “We have so many great items and everyday we meeting interesting people who bring us some lovely clothes, even Marks and Spencer and designer garments too, we also have some wonderful knitters who have been busy knitting hats and baby clothes too.

“It’s a shop that the whole community gets behind.”