Hidden Treasure 2009 Newsletter

We at Hidden Treasure are well into the swing of things already in 2009 after another very successful year in 2008. Before we look ahead, here is a brief overview of Hidden Treasure over the last few months…

2007 saw our family of seven shops grow to eight. We opened a shop in July 2007, in Gatesville, Cape Town and this shop serves to support the Baptist Seminary. We love that our Hidden Treasure family is constantly increasing and our passion is growing yearly. We are proud to announce that Hidden Treasure contributed generously in 2008 to various projects of the Baptist Women’s Department of Southern Africa.

May Shenton, the Hidden Treasure National Developer, spoke to each of our nine shops to establish their individual highlights of 2008. Here is what they had to say…

Bergvliet: Our Bergvliet shop continues to do very well financially. The shop is situated next to the Kwikspar in Bergvliet and enjoys a steady stream of customers. Special thanks to Lorraine Wood for leading as Chairperson of the Management Board for the past 4 years. Lorraine retires to take on the challenge of running the Agape Counselling Centre at Cape Town Baptist Church. We welcome Sheena Coetzee onto our team as the new Overseer of the Bergvliet shop.

Gatesville: From the month of May 2008, this shop moved into a steady profit margin. A few students from the Seminary come across after lectures in the afternoons to help as volunteers. This has been a great blessing to us. We have made use of the extra space in the shop, by opening a Sewing School for Job Creation and Skills Development. We have 5 students who have been diligent and committed. They are on the road to opening their own business in the near future.

Durban: The Durban shop has moved down the road to No. 9 Bulwer Road, Berea. Although the new shop is a little smaller, the staff are thrilled about the fact that they have a bigger stockroom. With the substantial drop in rental, we are expecting a great improvement in their profit margin.

East London: Lanie Wright overseer of the East London shop said their highlight of 2008 was their Christmas tea party where they exchanged and shared gifts with each other. The year looked bleak with the economy falling, but we had faith and were blessed with riches. The shop was so full that we were able to bless the new shop in King Williams Town when they opened in March 2009 with donations – as seen in the images below.

Port Elizabeth: God has truly been so good in providing the many needs of the PE shop. The excellent team of 30 volunteers represent each of the supportive Baptist Churches in the City. Pearl Groenewald has stepped in to act as Overseer for a 2 month period while the Overseer, Gerda Stoud, visits her family overseas.
The shop is doing well, enjoying the favour of the Lord in every way.

Randburg: May Shenton, the overseer of the Randburg Hidden Treasure Shop, so appreciates the volunteers who travel with her, once a week, to work in the shop. Students from the Baptist Theological College also assist when and where they can. Their enthusiasm, willingness, happy attitude and hard work contributes much to the success of this shop.
October was a bumper month, and doubled the previous month’s income, for which we are so grateful to God, and to those who donate to this ministry. Because of its success, we are able to contribute generously to the Baptist Theological College.

Rosettenville: The Rosettenville shop remains a blessing to the community, however stock and volunteers remain a challenge. Yvonne Foxcroft, overseer, wishes to extend an invitation to all those willing to donate their goods and time to please contact her.

Pietermaritzburg: Sandy, overseer, gives praise to God for the improved shop profits and for the local support. Hayfields Baptist ladies group have decided to use their skills to make items for sale in the shop, like pot holders and aprons etc. We are excited about new shop shelving that will be erected this week, which will give the shop a new and improved look.

Now let us look ahead… 2009 started off with a BANG as we opened our 9th shop in King Williams Town. The shop opened its doors on the 2nd of March and celebrated a steady stream of customers…and cash! This shop will be raising funds for a home for abused women and children. Our ‘superhero’ team of Terry Basson, May Shenton, Patricia Ihlenfeldt and Rona Austwick, including the new shop manageress Nomzamo and her willing volunteers, moved in for a week of extreme hard work, which comes as second nature to this group of passion driven ladies. Lanie Wright, overseer of the East London shop, helped us out with a huge donation to help kick start this shop. Below are some of the photos from the opening…

When asked where she would like to see Hidden Treasure grow in 2009, Terry Basson Hidden Treasure National Coordinator said: “Wherever God opens a door!” The big challenge we continually face is finding vacant premises at affordable prices. We have a number of Ministries who have requested assistance in setting up a Hidden Treasure shop. Our response to such an invitation is: Find a shop and we will gladly come and help you!

Well that is our news for this 1st quarter of 2009, please visit our website on www.hiddentreasure.co.za to see how easy it is to make a difference and help your local Hidden Treasure shop. Online you can get tips on how to donate goods you no longer need, what type of goods you can donate, how to donate of your time or money, view a map of South Africa and where all our shops are located, what Hidden Treasure stands for and who we support and much more.

Thank you for your support,
Hidden Treasure Team

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Click here to download the 2008 NEWSLETTER
Click here to download the 2007 NEWSLETTER