1/3 Photo: Kringloop Valkenswaard.
Piles of clothes, books and a number of benches: all the stuff from the thrift store in Valkenswaard will be given away for free on Thursday evening to people who are struggling financially. The shop will disappear and has been taken over by Rob Jansen, who will turn it into a fishing tackle shop. “There are so many people who have it bad, I’d rather give them this stuff for free than sell it for a few thousand euros.”
The thrift store in Valkenswaard will close its doors for good on Thursday. Rob has taken over the building and is transforming it into a new store. But until then he has a lot of second-hand stuff. “I also paid for the furniture when I took over,” he says.
Handy may be different, but he took it for granted. “I was looking for the right property in Valkenswaard, and now I have it.”
“Hopefully I will make others happy again.”
The building is full of second-hand items: filled bookcases, dozens of shoes, crockery and furniture such as cupboards and beds. Rob gives away the stuff to people who can use it well. “Hopefully I will make others happy again.”
People who are struggling financially can sign up through Facebook to get free stuff. He himself has also approached people who are on Facebook in the group ‘Help corner minima Valkenswaard/Waalre’.
According to the owner, the number of responses is enormous. “My post on Facebook has been shared a lot and I’ve received a lot of private messages. It’s going like a train, I don’t know where it came from.”
“Someone whose house has burned down, you help them a lot.”
So far he has received about fifty applications. “For example, I received the name of someone whose house burned down. The insurance has not yet paid, so with free stuff you help such a person a lot. My heart goes out to that.”
He doesn’t know exactly how Rob will organize it yet. “It’s such a success, I don’t really know who to start with.”
In order not to create a huge crowd all at once, he will in any case work with time slots. “I also think that I let people choose one big thing first, such as a bed or wardrobe. And then everyone can shop freely. There are a lot of clothes, glasses, books, shoes and coffee makers. Everything can go.”