Westport Lions R&R Centre Opens For Season
Photo Credit Jeannette Harper: Volunteers Sharon Jones and Bruce Wallace hanging art for sale at the R&R.
By Suesan Saville
On your mark, get set, go. It’s not Black Friday, it’s better! The Westport Lions Reuse and Recycle (R&R) Centre reopens for the season on April 25. It operates every Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Now in its fifth year of operation, it’s no longer a best kept secret.
The R&R Centre is an emporium of great second hand stuff priced to sell. It has a loyal following on the hunt for a deal. Early arrivals are rewarded for their effort: some things sell before they are even unloaded from a donor’s vehicle.
I speak from experience. One morning, my husband, one of the volunteers who help out at the R&R, sent me a photo of a five-piece wicker set that had just arrived. I wasn’t checking my phone. My neighbours were there, though, and on their game, but even they got into a tussle with a competing customer: they ended up dividing the set between them. I now look at their chairs when I pass by their veranda. They would have been so perfect on ours!
But there are more reasons than a good deal to shop the R&R. Whether sales take place in the parking lot or in the store, all proceeds go the Westport Lions. They are used in turn to support a long list of local community organizations and schools. It is one of the main sources of funding for activities and groups supported by the Westport Lions Club.
And that’s not all: the operation supports responsible consumption by finding new homes for goods that would otherwise end up in the landfill and it is decidedly local and Canadian! The cost of purchases is low enough to inspire your creative spirit: how can you repair, restore or reinvent a piece to remake it as one-of-a-kind?
The centre relies on donations—a terrific option for people downsizing—but their space, donated by the Tackaberry family, is limited. If they don’t think something will sell, they won’t take it. You can send photos to devilake@rideau.net if you want to check before you load up something you want to donate.
The R&R carries tables, chairs, bed frames, desks, filing cabinets, sofas, lamps, lighting fixtures, art works, rugs, exercise and sports equipment and more. You will also find tools, building supplies, and small electrical appliances in good repair. When they are up and running, check out their Facebook page (Westport Lions Club Re-use Sales Centre) for featured items listed for sale.
They redirect people to local second-hand shops to donate clothing, kitchenware, everyday dishes, books, CDs, DVDs and the like.
If you are in need of medical assistive devices, they have a well-stocked inventory of canes, crutches, walkers, bed rails, toilet seat boosters and wheel chairs. All for loan, for free.
If you are spring cleaning your basement or garage, the centre is also a recycling depot for metal, aluminium, batteries and old electronics. The R&R centre is co-managed by Jeannette Harp
Westport Lions Club 