No price tags: Free market for donated goods opening in Calgary
Just under the looming Bow Tower and a stone’s throw from Chinatown, a new market will be sharing goods with Calgarians free of charge.
The Good Neighbour Community Market, located at 149 Fifth Avenue S.E., will offer donated clothing, food, books and household goods.
Customers can make a donation to help cover expenses, but at this market, if they are unable to pay, that’s OK too.
Alice Lam, who co-founded the market, says even though no payment is required, she expects most people will recognize the spirit of the market and contribute to keep it running.
"People are very respectful, they understand that," Lam said. "It's a community effort, and everybody's doing the best that they can to take care of each other.
"So we don't see, you know, a ton of people taking advantage. If anything, we've seen an outpouring of generosity."
The impetus for the Good Neighbour Community Market flowed from one of Lam’s other volunteer projects, a free community fridge that she and a group of other volunteers set up in Crescent Heights.
"Volunteering at the Calgary community fridge, we saw that the need for clothing was really high, but also a need for a gathering space downtown," said Lam. "I volunteered at the senior buildings across the street before and I just really knew that there wasn't a place for people to gather there was in a retail space. I just had this desire to kind of build community and revitalize this section of downtown Calgary."
The building’s landlord saw the success of the community fridge, so offered up the space on Fifth Avenue for free, as long as Lam's team of volunteers revitalized it at their own cost and cover the operating costs of the business.
"He wants to see something happen in this downtown area. Downtown (Calgary) has been vacant for a while and there's a lot of buildings like this that are ripe for revitalization. It just takes you know, some team effort," said Lam.
She says they also received a lot of support from tradespeople to set up the market.
"We had electricians and plumbers who said, 'I'll help install light switches, I'll help you fix the plumbing.' There were a number of people who just liked the concept and came to help paint. Others asking, 'Do you need help getting donations, picking things up?' It's been amazing."
Lam is no stranger to puling people together in volunteer efforts. She also the founder of Volly, an app matching non-profit organizations with volunteers, and was the driving force behind a program to deliver bouquets to seniors who find themselves isolated.
She hopes the market becomes more than just a thrift store but a thriving community meeting space as well.
"I think that when you're shopping or if you're here, just kind of checking things out, you naturally talk to community members that you normally wouldn't interact with," she said.
"The great and exciting part is kind of getting to know the neighborhood a bit more getting to allow the seniors and the youth to volunteer here and help us run the store."
Good Neighbour Community Market opens to the public on Saturday July 24th, but is accepting donations.
It is currently looking for more:
- Non-perishable foods;
- Clothing;
- Shoes;
- Books and;
- House plants.
Donations can be made either at the market on Fridays between 1 and 5 p.m., at Tigerstedt Market (918 Centre St. North) on Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Le Freak (104 Eighth Ave. N.E.) on Tuesdays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and on weekends between noon and 4 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
BREAKING London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.