Nourish set to reopen charity shop in Kirkcaldy's Mercat after plans to relocate change

The Nourish Charity Shop in the Mercat Shopping Centre closed in January as the team of volunteers intended to relocate to new premises elsewhere in the town centre.

However, a change of plans mean the shop, which raises vital funds for the charity which helps families in Fife with children with additional support needs, is reopening in the same location within the Mercat on Wednesday.

Lynne Scott, chief executive of Nourish, said: “We did plan to move due to repair issues, however the Mercat were really keen for us to stay. They pulled out the stops to keep us there.

"We’re really looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Mercat. They have put a lot in to support us and to enable us to stay and continue to raise funds to support families of children with additional support needs.

“The shop has had a new layout to make it more accessible. Everybody is really excited.

“It’s a shame we have had to close for a short period, but it’s given us an opportunity to have a fresh start, go through the stock, reorganise it and give the shop a new look.”

A spokesperson for The Mercat, said: “Mercat are proud to have Nourish Charity Shop and Hub as two of the Mercat family of tenants. The work they do for the Kirkcaldy community is outstanding and the relationships and support they provide both within and out with the centre is an essential service.

"We look forward to our continued partnership with Nourish for many years to come.”

Lynne said that the Community Payback team had been a huge help throughout the process of packing up the shop, preparing to move and then ultimately unpacking in the same store.

She said their support had been “fantastic” and she thanked them for all they had done.

Gary Meldrum, projects officer for Community Payback, Kirkcaldy and Burntisland area, explained the aim of the scheme is to provide opportunities to participants to make reparation to the local community, as well as helping offenders to learn and acquire new work and life skills while on unpaid work placements in the community.

Gary said: “To improve their employability prospects and help them break the cycle of reoffending and to move away from crime this allows for the unpaid work scheme to help, assist and carry out various types of project requests within the local community.

"Having worked closely with Nourish over the years assisting with various projects our teams were again delighted to be able to offer the help and assistance that was requested.

"Lynne recently got in touch with me requesting some assistance with the removal of some stock in preparation for the move into new premises. We were more than happy to accommodate the request. Once I carried out a full onsite assessment, I was able to provide a lot more assistance from our teams so it was suggested that Community Payback would offer to facilitate the move."

Despite the change of plan, the Community Payback team continued to work with the charity to help them move back into their previous premises.

Gary added: “We look forward to continuing the community partnership we have with this amazing charity.”