A new Habitat ReStore – which helps families improve their homes at low-cost and provide volunteering and training opportunities for local people – is to open in Newry.
It will be only the third store in Northern Ireland and money raised will help Habitat for Humanity Northern Ireland as the charity’s goal is to “raises funds to build hope and homes around the world”.
Habitat ReStore is a social enterprise. The first opened in Lisburn five years ago and another then in Ballymena in 2016.
Now it has confirmed it intends to open a Habitat ReStore in Newry before the end of the year.
The premise is simple.
According to Habitat, the ReStore is a hub for its work, connecting the local and global, and it has already had a “significant impact on the local community” since it first launched.
The charity explains how it operates: “By selling donated new and used building and home improvement materials, it serves thousands of families who need help to improve their homes at low cost and diverts tons of material from landfill.
“ReStore delivers volunteering and training opportunities for people of all backgrounds and abilities and raises funds to build hope and homes around the world.”
Habitat for Humanity chief executive Jenny Williams has written to Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to invite councillors and officers to visit its hub in Lisburn and learn what happens and the benefits which it brings.
She has also said she is “excited” by the plans for Habitat ReStore in Newry and wants to attend a committee meeting to update and outline what is intended.
Ms Williams says she believes ReStore will “add value for the community and deliver benefits for all those who seek to build a more sustainable future”.
She added: “Since 1994, Habitat for Humanity Northern Ireland’s local work has focused on reconciliation and building strong communities in which everyone can reach their full potential.
“Our commitment to community building through construction and volunteer engagement has supported community regeneration.
“More than 30,000 volunteers from across Northern Ireland have engaged in practical projects, locally and globally, which break down barriers and help build a shared future.
“Based on a successful model in the US, we opened the first Habitat ReStore in Europe in Lisburn just over five years ago, and the second in Ballymena almost two years ago.
“Habitat ReStore has delivered real impacts for the local community in partnership with local people, companies, schools and community organisations.”
