PRELOVED clothes and homewares have gone on sale at a town cafe to help raise funds so members of a disabled group attend the Special Olympics next year.
Bargain hunters who enjoy coffee can now browse preloved clothes and homeware while helping raise vital funds. Christine Taylour, assistant coach of Teesdale Special Olympics, has turned two unused rooms at Andalucia Cafe, in Galgate, Barnard Castle, into a treasure trove of preloved items.
All the items are second hand and range from winter jackets to dress jewellery, condiment sets, books and everything in between in the hope of raising more than £1,000 to help members of Teesdale Special Olympics train and compete in events.
Mrs Taylour, whose son, Jonathan, won a trio of medals for swimming at Los Angeles Special Olympics four years ago, said: “The rooms were empty and we desperately need to raise some funds for the club.
“We’ve got 14 active members now and we’re always looking for ways to raise money – running the club costs money for training and with entry fees to competitions it all mounts up.
“We had the space so hopefully we will be able to bring some cash in – every little bit helps.”
She added although the Special Olympics is one of the three branches of the Olympics, the events receive no government funding to help athletes train or compete and must fundraise continually to enable athletes participate.
Mrs Taylour said the group’s swimming coach, John Richardson, has been selected to coach the ten pin bowling team at the Special Olympics, which will be held in Abu Dhabi in March. Mrs Taylour has also created a photograph wall with images of most of the group’s with medals, including ones of her son.
She said: “There will also be trophies on display that they’ve won, but not all as there simply wouldn’t be room.”
