Open for shopping: Steven Walter Children's Cancer Foundation's Katoomba op-shop manager Lisa Pithers.
A Katoomba Street op-shop located in the Uniting Church’s hall is continuing to operate for a vital charity despite Lifeline Macarthur deciding to move out on July 28.
Lifeline Macarthur handed the keys and a fully-stocked shop floor to The Steven Walter Children’s Cancer Foundation, which is open for business under the shop’s same dedicated manager Lisa Pithers.
Lifeline Macarthur decided in May to close its op-shops in Katoomba, Springwood and Penrith.
Its chief executive officer Peter Mihajlovic said “deciding to close our Katoomba op-shop was an extremely difficult decision for Lifeline Macarthur and we were aware of the potential impact, but happily our efforts to transfer the business to another charity paid off”.
“We would like to wish the new charity every success. Our remaining shops [in south-western Sydney] are all working very hard to provide us with the income needed to operate our crisis support on the Lifeline 131-114 telephone service.”
The Steven Walter Children’s Cancer Foundation’s (SWCCF) Katoomba shop is open and welcomes shoppers, volunteers and donations of items like men’s, women’s, children’s and babies’ clothing, jewellery, toys, handbags, craft items, small furniture, overnight bags and shoes that are in unused or good condition.
The shop is open from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm and can be reached on 4782-7591.
Sydneysider Steven Walter died of cancer in July 2000 aged 19 and SWCCF was founded to fulfil his dying wish to raise money for research into finding a cure for cancer “so that no other kid will have to go through what I went through”.
The Foundation delivers funds for vital cancer research supporting a full range of clinical services to patients, tertiary care, health promotion and cancer risk prevention programs for children and adolescents.
The Blue Mountains-based Tumour Terminators City2Surf team — running in honour of Katoomba’s Joel Blane who died of cancer in 2005 aged nine — chooses to donate its monies raised every year to SWCCF.
For more information about SWCCF, visit www.stevenwalterfoundation.org.au.