Orphans Aid OpShop founder and chief executive Sue van Schreven acknowledged both the volunteer staff and the work that had been done throughout the store’s 20-year history to support Orphans Aid International.
"We are very thankful to the dedication and hard work of our volunteers who make this possible.
"We could not run the store without them," she said.
Ms van Schreven pointed out that the organisation had started out more than 20 years ago, but it was 20 years ago this week that they had opened New Zealand’s first Orphans Aid OpShop in Invercargill. They now also had opshops in Waikato, Whanganui, Palmerston North and Dunedin.
Ms van Schreven said the Orphans Aid International charitable trust was founded in 2004 and the Invercargill opshop was launched in Invercargill at the time of the 2005 tsunami and had been funding needs ever since.
She said the aim of the opshops was to provide excellent quality goods at affordable prices, so they could fundraise and provide resources for their projects both overseas and in New Zealand.
