By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been 12 months since Ballan\u2019s famous Steptoe\u2019s Op Shop came under new management, but volunteers say the new managers have been a perfect fit.<\/p>\n
Steptoe\u2019s officially changed hands from the Ballan Lionesses to the Ballan & District Community House (BDCH) on July 1, 2021, after Lions Club\u2019s International disbanded all Lioness organisations by June 30.<\/p>\n
Last year, BDCH Manager Lyn Plummer said the Community House\u2019s focus was \u201ckeeping up the good work the Lionesses have done in building up relationships and supporting local charities\u201d.<\/p>\n
And former Ballan Lionesses President, Fred Moore, says the Community House has done just that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ran this place for 12 years as Lionesses, and it was difficult handing it over to someone else\u2026but their quote was \u2018if it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it\u2019, and we agreed with that. That\u2019s how it\u2019s been, we still run it the same way as we did, and all the donations still go to the same people,\u201d Ms Moore told the Moorabool News.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transition has been very good \u2013 there were a few little hiccups in the beginning, but we sat down and talked about them, and ironed them out, and now everything\u2019s good. We haven\u2019t got a whole lot of volunteers, but the ones we do have are great\u2026there\u2019s about five of us former Lionesses who have stuck around.\u201d<\/p>\n
BDCH Manager Lyn Plummer said the Community House remained committed to honouring the legacy of the Lionesses, by running Steptoe\u2019s as similarly as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been fairly seamless\u2026I think everybody was a bit worried about the handover at first, but we\u2019ve had Phaedra Press down there as our liaison and she\u2019s fit in really well. The Board is really pleased, Steptoe\u2019s is running really smoothly,\u201d Ms Plummer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still giving out donations through the year from Steptoe\u2019s, last year it was $21,000 which was pretty good given it was a COVID-affected year, and Steptoe\u2019s closed down a bit through the year. Donations have gone across all different service organisations, including the Ballarat Legacy, the SES in Bacchus Marsh, all the CFA branches in the district, and sometimes funding for individuals if they need a wheelchair or things like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t tried to impose, even though we\u2019re more restricted by compliance and because we\u2019re a registered charity\u2026we wanted to keep the Lionesses\u2019 legacy going, that they\u2019d spent so much time and energy building up, and make sure that the money went out in the same way and to the same people that the Lionesses supported. And we\u2019ve kept to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steptoe\u2019s Op Shop is located at 111 Inglis St, Ballan, and is open from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm on Fridays, and 9.30 am to 1 pm on Saturdays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lachlan Ellis It\u2019s been 12 months since Ballan\u2019s famous Steptoe\u2019s Op Shop came under new management, but volunteers say the new managers have been a perfect fit. Steptoe\u2019s officially changed hands from the Ballan Lionesses to the Ballan & District Community House (BDCH) on July 1, 2021, after Lions Club\u2019s International disbanded all Lioness […]<\/p>\n