Madrugada’s second charity shop received its official opening on Friday March 4 by Clive Jewell, British Consul in Portimão. Cutting the ribbon he said: ‘I am honoured to be asked to open the new Madrugada charity shop in Portimao, which I am sure will be an extension of the great achievements of the ground-breaking Madrugada shop in Praia da Luz, that is proving to be so successful thanks to the wonderful kindness of many people, both volunteers and those who have been donating items.
‘From the British Consulate’s point of view, our willingness to support Alison and her team where we can won’t be limited to today’s opening either; I’m very much looking forward to visiting the Praia da Luz shop in the not too distant future.’
Work on fitting out the shop began at the beginning of this year led by Christine and Michael Browning who moved from the UK to Alvor five years ago. Christine was one of the first to join Madrugada’s Praia da Luz shop and suggested that Portimão would be another good location if a suitable site could be found.
The shop is situated right in the centre of town on Rua Direita near the theatre and will concentrate mainly on quality clothing. Thanks to the generosity of Alison Slater from ‘Collections’ in particular, the shop has a good selection of new women’s items from last season. But browsing through the racks one will find chain store brands, plus various designer labels and a good selection of children’s wear.
Opening is limited from 10am-2pm until more volunteers can be found to work on a half day a week basis - so if you would like to help please contact Chris on 968740693 or through the Madrugada campaign office in Praia da Luz (282 761 375).