Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop is opening its doors to shoppers for the first time in two months.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the thrift shop closed its doors to the public on March 18. Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop says that they closed due to public health orders but are now able to open once again. 

Robin Searle, the store's manager, says that her team is excited that they are able to open again.

"Our customers and donors are extremely respectful," Searle says.

Today is the first day since the pandemic that Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop has opened its doors to the public since March.

"We opened our doors at 9:30 but had people lining up at 8:30."

The thrift shop is slowly opening up, beginning with only allowing 50 people at a time in the store. While they have space to allow more people, Searle says they are taking it slowly and keeping their volunteers in mind.

"We have the best volunteers, ever... they are really understanding of the necessary precautions that we are taking."

When customers first enter the store, they are required to use hand sanitizer at the front of the store and are asked to follow distancing guidelines. For those who are shopping without a mask and wish to purchase one, Searle says that have some available.

"While we were closed, we had a group of about 10 volunteers making masks."

Searle hopes to allow more shoppers in the store at a time eventually but says that for right now she is keeping the safety of her volunteers and customers in mind.

"What we are doing is a slow phasing in because it is all very dependent upon the number of volunteers we have and how many customers we can accommodate," Searle says. "We are going to start slowly with 50 and see how things progress."

Along with limited customers, the store will not be allowing people to try things on and the bathrooms are remaining closed. Volunteers will be encouraging shoppers to "browse with their eyes" and avoid unnecessary touching of the products.

The thrift shop began accepting donations last Monday. Searle says that they received plenty of donations on the first day but have since returned to normal donation levels.

In order to keep people safe, the donation process has slightly changed.

"I think people just wanted to donate their products," Searle says about the jump in donations on Monday,

Searle says the store is now seeing normal amounts of donations come through their doors, but are being careful about when they put on the floor.

"We are storing the product up to 72 hours in our trailer," she says. "Customers can be assured that we are still maintaining our high degree of cleanliness."

Searle says that they have over 300 volunteers, but not all are returning. The shop is being cautious about who is allowed back during this time.

"The majority of my volunteers are over 65," Searle says. "They just want to get back to work and do something and feel like they are being productive." 

Volunteers will be asked to wear a mask during their shift and follow various procedures including taking the province's self-assessment tool.

The manager adds that so far people have been very respectful about the new procedures while donating and shopping and is looking forward to seeing everyone visit once again.