Jen Graham, known as Charity Shop Girl on social media, announced the official opening of Guild Care’s latest charity shop in Rustington on Friday 25th October.
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00:00So, I now can confirm that the Girlcare Rustington shop is open.
00:06I'm Jen, Charity Shop Girl, and I shop in charity shops, and I'm here to hopefully remove the stigma of second-hand shopping whilst also promoting charity retail.
00:16Perfect, and how did the venture start on TikTok? Where did the idea come about?
00:20Well, I've charity shopped since I was 17, and it was my daughter who told me to start sharing my videos and TikToks of how I style my charity shop fans, and it kind of just grew from there.
00:31Amazing. And how did this come about today, to visit Girlcare in Rustington, and how pleased are you to open the new shop?
00:36This is my fifth time with Girlcare. It's an honour to be here again. They are an incredible charity, and today I witnessed first-hand what they do as a charity.
00:46So, it's incredible to be here, cutting the ribbon of the new Rustington shop, which is amazing. I've already had a little rummage.
00:52Yeah, so what have you learned about the work they do, and how vital is it to people that might be kind of isolated from the community?
00:58Well, Girlcare are obviously where I've been leading social care charity, and I've witnessed that myself today because I've spoke to some people who actually use them.
01:08I've spoken to a number of day centres and figured out that they, you know, infect them at the house. Some of them have been stuck in the house after losing a loved one. It's really special to think that us shopping in charity shops pays for those services.
01:20Amazing. And what are your top tips for charity shopping?
01:23You've always got to be prepared to have a rummage. Start from the beginning to the end. Don't forget rummaging in baskets and high and low. Check everything. Don't focus too much on sizes, because lots of vintage things are different sizes. Check every single section, and shop out of season.
01:40So, you might find some of your summer items in winter. You might find your best winter coat in the summer. You've got to leave no stone unturned.
01:47Hi, I'm Mark. I am the Deputy Shop Manager here in Rustington.
01:51And how pleased are you to open this new shop here in Rustington?
01:54Really pleased. We've been open since Monday. It's been really busy. I think it's good for the community.
02:00Amazing. So, how vital is the work that Guildcare does for people that might be isolated in their communities?
02:08Really vital. We've got the care homes, and we've got everything else as well. But especially for isolation, I think it's really important. I think the shops also help to bring people together as well, and they can see what services we can offer.
02:21And what will this new shop offer people in Rustington? Obviously, it's a great spot. Obviously, probably a lot of football.
02:26Yeah. Bargains, basically. We've got some brilliant donations. We've got a brilliant team. So, yeah. If you want to come over and browse, just come in and pop in and say hi.
02:35Amazing. And how good has it been to have Jen here today to obviously open the shop and obviously get that bit of exposure on TikTok as well?
02:41Yeah, really good. Really good. Obviously, she's got a great following on Instagram and TikTok, so it's great to have her here as well to open up our shop and give it a good start.