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Chairman: Robert Kohn

A registered charity "opportunity shop", the Bargain Bazaar in Sydney occupies a very important place as one of the projects of B'nai B'rith in NSW.

By collecting donated goods from within the Sydney community and selling them as second-hand for very reasonable prices, the shop has raised in excess of $750,000 for a broad range of charities of all denominations, humanitarian, medical and educational since its inception 25 years ago.
 
What we sell
 
We sell mainly second-hand clothing and shoes as well as manchester, books, CDs, DVDs, kitchen and household goods. These come to us from customers who bring donations into the shop, people who are decluttering, downsizing, moving into nursing homes or retirement villages or from deceased estates. Our customers are some of the best-dressed people in Surry Hills!
 
With the inclusion of furniture as part of our inventory, we sell pieces such as bedside tables, dining chairs, coffee tables and chests of drawers. These are delivered at a small charge. We also have small electrical goods such as hair dryers, bedside lamps, table lamps and clock radios that are tested before being put out for sale.
 
Occasionally we have fridges and washing machines in good condition and these sell quickly. There are times when we receive an item that is too valuable to sell in the shop such as a wedding dress or a designer handbag so it goes on eBay.
 
Committee
 
The Bargain Bazaar committee is elected by the volunteers each year at the annual general meeting and comprises the following positions: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Roster organiser and general committee members. The committee is responsible for managing the finances, the volunteer roster, shop repairs and maintenance and a sub-committee decides the allocation of donations to various charities, both Jewish and non-Jewish each year. 
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Volunteering

From a humble beginning, today the shop is operated by over 70 volunteers --- members and non-members, friends of B'nai B'rith --- and is constantly looking for new helpers for as little as 3 hours per month. Age or lack of retail experience is no barrier --- only a willingness to help is required.
 
For the retail operation, opening hours are Monday to Friday 10 am – 4pm and Sunday 10 am – 3pm. We do not open on Saturdays and are closed on Jewish holidays and national holidays. There are two shifts per weekday 10 am – 1pm and 1pm – 4pm. The roster is done on a 4-weekly basis with volunteers working from one to several shifts in each 4-week period. At the beginning of each year, every volunteer with a regular shift receives a hard copy of the full year’s roster, indicating dates on which they are scheduled to work.  However, it is not necessary to have a regular shift. We also have volunteers who do casual shifts as the need arises.
 
As well as volunteers who sell front-of-shop, we have two other teams of volunteers: one group that comes in, usually on Mondays and Tuesdays, to work at the back of the shop sorting and pricing stock; and another group that collect donations from households and delivers the goods to the shop.
 
All volunteers are provided with a manual, written by one of the members of the committee with input from others, that sets out procedures and processes that need to be followed. 
Please click the link below to read our Volunteer Manual.  volunteer_manual.pdf
 
Donations
 
Sinc the introduction of small items of furniture and some electrical goods as part of our stock, our takings have increased to the point that, between 2017 and 2019, we have been able to donate over $240,000 to many and varied charities. In the Jewish community, these include Maccabi All Abilities, Courage to Care, Our Big Kitchen, BJE, ECAJ, NSW Friendship Circle, COA, Jewish Care, Camp Sababa, Sydney Jewish Museum and Hatzolah. Within the Surry Hills and wider community, recipients include DARTS, Midnight Basketball, Giant Steps, Kids Giving Back, South Sydney Police Citizens Youth Club, Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation, Australian Foundation for Diabetes Research, Cleft Palate Foundation Westmead Hospital and Australian Cancer Research Foundation.
 
Pop-up Shop
 
Since September 2019, our pop-up shop in the Surry Hills Shopping Centre has been open for business and will remain until the centre is redeveloped. We now have additional space to sell the larger items of furniture that could not fit into our op shop. We have dining suites, individual chairs and tables, two-seater and three-seater sofas, large bookshelves, wall units, chests of drawers, mattresses, bed frames, paintings, mirrors and more. Hours of opening are 11am – 5pm excluding Saturdays.  


Contact us
 
For more information or to apply to volunteer contact the Sydney B'nai B'rith office on    (02) 9321 6300 or council@bbnsw.org.au.

To hear about the beginnings of the Bargain Bazaar from one of its founders, find Hetty Hardy on Our People page.