After four months of being closed, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service op shop in Lismore has finally re-opened. 

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The Service’s regional marketing manager Zeke Huish said when pandemic hit and the shop was forced to close in mid-March, they were just about to have a summer clearance and change the stock to winter clothes

So, the good news is that for a limited time as a reopening special, all summer clothing in the op shop has been reduced to $1 and all winter clothing is $2 per item.

Zeke said it took so long to reopen the shop because it was a big task reviewing each of the service’s op shop locations to make them covid-safe, then training volunteers to work in a covid-safe environment.

“We’ve been focussing on making it safe for our volunteers – many of whom are in the vulnerable category,” he said.

“We have had to change the way we operate in order to make sure only one team of volunteers is in the shop each day.

“When they sign on, they get a temperature check and use hand sanitiser and have personal protective equipment available to them. 

“We want to make sure they are all comfortable working there. It means that some of the volunteers have also decided to wait a bit longer before volunteering again. This means that some days we may not have enough volunteers and we may not be able to open. 

“It’s a fluid situation and we are working with it.

Zeke said the shop also has limited hours of operation and customer numbers in the shop are restricted. 

“We have reduced volunteer number too because the back area they work in is quite small,” he said. 

“We are also not accepting any donation items from the public at the moment until we are back on our feet and volunteers are able to sort them.

The Magellan Street op shop will be open from 10am until 2pm, Monday to Friday, with hopes they can extend the opening hours over time. 

To find out more about the helicopter op shops or how you can become a volunteer, visit http://www.helirescue.com.au

Fundraiser rescheduled

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service has also rescheduled its Byron Coast Charity Walk fundraising event which was cancelled earlier this year.

Zeke said the date is now set at November 7, and hopefully Covid restrictions will allow for the event to happen later this year.

“It’s a changing situation guided by government restrictions and we will monitor it to make sure we can run the event safely,” he said.

“All registered participants will be automatically transferred to the new date of Saturday 7 November 2020.

“If participants cannot attend, they will be able to donate their registration fee to the Rescue Helicopter or receive a refund.”

All registered participants can check their email for more details.

New registrations for this event are open and will remain open until the week prior to the event at http://www.coastalcharitywalk.com.au/byroncoast

“If you wish to receive a refund and then re-enter closer to the date you can,” Zeke said.