Derry charity HURT opens new 'preloved' shop

The Quirky Corner is located in Quayside Shopping Centre, beside the entrance to Tesco, and, as the name suggests, sells unique and interesting items of clothing, homeware and books. Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Councillor Sandra Duffy cut the ribbon at the opening event and said she was ‘delighted’ to be’invited along’.

“It’s fantastic to see another shop like this springing up in the city centre in this shopping mall,” she said. “Shops like this are so good because you never know what you’re going to find and there’s always wee hidden treasures. It’s all about sustainability and wearing pre-loved clothes.

"I wish you all the best for the future and I hope that the shop goes a long way to help raise vital funds for the overall HURT service because the work that HURT does is amazing.”

Chairperson of HURT, Jonathan Hegarty said: “As the chair of this wonderful charity, it’s a pleasure to be stood here. The work that City, Vivian, Leanne and Marian have put in to make this happen in such a short time is incredible. They have worked tirelessly to make this a reality. As is the way in HURT, we do everything as a team, so a special mention to our van-man, John, our handyman and Center Manager, Dessie, our Taskmaster and Trainer, Irene, Kaya, Vivian's daughter, the artist, Caroline, and anyone else who has assisted in this journey.“So, I just want to wish Vivian, our new store manager, and all the volunteers all the best for this Quirky new adventure.”

HURT was founded by Sadie O'Reilly, who tragically lost her son Tony to heroin addiction, to provide help and support to others struggling with addiction and their families.

Sadie said: “I'm more than excited to be opening this shop today. I'm just ecstatic. Funding is so hard to get now so, hopefully, this will enable us to help our community and help anybody with addiction – that's where all the money goes. This shop will also raise awareness of the work we do and means we can help more people. We’re a community based organisation and that will be reflected in the shop with things to come; we want to involve the community and local businesses in the shop as much as we can.”

“This is a big year for us as we became charity partner with Darkness into Light again, which is amazing. It brings many people together that have lost loved ones and I think, when they meet up with other people and they start talking, it gives them a sense of ease to know that they're not the only people suffering.

“I'd just like to say thank you to everybody that helped out because it was hard work getting it up and running.”

Sadie’s daughter, Vivian, is the new shop manager and she says opening the shop has been a real community effort.

“People have been really, really good at dropping down donations. People have been really charitable towards us, giving us free things or giving us things at heavily discounted prices. Every day there's people landing with bags, so it's been brilliant.

“The purpose of the shop is to put funds back in to HURT keep the services going. All our services are free so we need to fundraise in order to provide that service."

“I'd just like to say thanks to everybody that's helped out. It's been non-stop for the last month or so. And just to welcome all the volunteers that's coming on with me.

Business Development and Social Enterprise Manager with HURT, Leanne Doherty said: “This shop is going to be a great asset in terms of raising our profile and bringing in much-needed funds to keep our services free for clients.”

“I want to say a personal thanks to Vivian, Sadie and Dessie, for all the hard work they’ve put in.

Keep an eye on the Quirky Corner’s social media pages for updates and details on how to become a volunteer.