Dorcas: The community clothing store offering new life in Narembeen and Narrogin

Rosemary Smoker started her Narembeen and Narrogin Dorcas second-hand stores with a mission to make sure that nobody in the region would go cold during winter. “In the kid’s section, we’ve got lots of stuff that is fifty cents, we don’t want kids running around cold without shoes, there’s stuff for babies to keep them nice and warm,” she said. “We’ve got around 9000 women’s tops between size 12 twelve and 16, two big racks of jumpers — no women should be going cold which I think is pretty cool.” The Narembeen Dorcas store opened nine years ago with the Narrogin store opening a year later in response to community need. Money raised through the sale of second-hand clothes, books and homeware is donated. “The money we raise gets passed on to schools, hospitals, missions, the refuge centre,” Ms Smoker said. “We hand out cheques in $2000 lots, by the end of the month we will have raised nearly $600,000 dollars and it all goes to charities.” Dorcas responds to many needs, providing a place for people to purchase clothing, drop off old clothing and enjoy the thrill of the forage. “People can come here and it’s like they’re in another world and at the end of it they’re not going to have to spend a fortune.” Ms Smoker said. Another need Dorcas fulfils in the community is a social one. “At the moment we have about 20 volunteers, which is really cool,” Ms Smoker said. “We have people that come to help with their carers which is lovely, we’ve got work for the dole volunteers that help us wonderfully and people that want to get out of the house — they come here and help and chat with people which gives them a lift and cheers them up.” Between the two stores, Ms Smoker is kept very busy. “There’s a need to open up more shops, it’d be great if more people did it themselves and said ‘let’s go back to basics’, I think it would be wonderful,” she said. “Our motto is a second chance to live — and the clothes that come in here have a second chance to live and we ourselves have a second chance, if we’re helping other people and doing what is right we have a second chance to live.”