The occurrence of natural disasters, poverty and a strong desire to help the less fortunate led Sherlette Sealy and her partner Dwayne Bryan to establish the Rack and Roll Thrift Shop in the St Michael community of Bush Hall Yard Gap.
Sealy said many Barbadians continued to find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet during the current recession and she and Bryan found much satisfaction and enjoyment in providing a helping hand to those who needed it most.
“Basically, what we do is we help fire victims, people who lose their property to natural disasters, the elderly, or just anybody who needs the assistance. Proceeds from the sales go to the people who need help. For me, it is not only about giving back. It is also about recycling and reducing wastage,” she said.
Sealy and Bryan have been operating their thrift shop since the end of March from two rented containers and so far they have assisted a number of people, including two families who were victims of fire.
The two are in the process of setting up a charitable organization, The Bryan Sealy Help Foundation, which made them realize they would need to operate from a building instead of the containers.
Such is the dedication and determination to establish the foundation that Sealy, 38, who runs a hand-crafted jewellery and natural soaps company, has made the decision to put the business on pause so she can focus on the charity.
As for the new location, she said they had their eyes on a few places and were hoping to have things finalized by next month so they could move into the new shop. They currently provide only items of clothing, toys and books and had plans to include food items.
“The concept that we have for the store is that people will get new items. The organization is geared toward helping low-income workers, people who are less fortunate and basically anyone who is into thrift shops [since], with the state of the economy now, everybody is complaining about [high] prices,” said the entrepreneur.
In addition to Saturdays, the shop now opens from Monday to Friday.
Sealy said customers were usually satisfied and “contented” with their purchases and it was their goal as entrepreneurs to help more people in future.
“That is where my passion lies. We are really doing it to help the people,” she said.