Volunteers find new home for Katanning’s Activ op shop after months of closure

A Katanning op shop has finally found a new home after being shut for months. The former Activ op shop is set to be reopened as the Katanning Op Shop in a new Clive Street location later this year after it secured a lease. The shop will be operated by the new Katanning Regional Opportunity Society, whose membership consists of former volunteers from the Daping Street store. Former store volunteer of 15 years, Margaret Renk, is the inaugural president of the KROS committee. She said the community needed the op shop. “We have been closed for five months and we keep on having people asking when we are opening,” Ms Renk said. “We are a proper op shop — our prices are very low, people donate us their goods and then we sell then on.” Ms Renk said the impact of the store closure was particularly concerning at this time of year. “A lot of people come to us if they can’t afford to buy jumpers, coats and winter bedding,” she said. “With the new people that come to town for the meatworks, they come to us to get what they need to survive.” The volunteers at the Activ Op Shop say they were told of the organisation’s decision to close the store in January, but they were not told the reasons. Despite the confusion over the closure, Ms Renk said Activ had been supportive of the new venture, allowing the committee to keep the stock from the previous store. The op shop will now take on the ground floor of the 113-year-old Bank Buildings, last occupied by the former Katanning Family Steakhouse. KROS has so far amassed a group of 12 volunteers, with hopes that more will come on board. The group will focus on cleaning its new premises and freshening it up before opening to the public before the end of the year. “We hope some people will give us a hand,” Ms Renk said. Anyone willing to help out or donate shelving for the store is asked to contact one of the KROS members.