Kate Drummond said, “We’ve been having a hard time.” Lisa MacIntosh said, “The emotional let-down.” They looked happy but exhausted.

They had just opened and closed Toronto’s one-day-only Street Store, held in Parkdale, and they were still in recovery.

The Street Store began in Cape Town, South Africa; the idea is to collect surplus clothing and supplies, and to offer these things to those in need in a setting similar to a retail store, with everything organized by size, and with “personal shoppers” available to help.

When word of the Toronto store first broke, Kate and Lisa were very quickly overwhelmed with donations from all directions.

A waitress from the Air Canada Centre talked to her friends at work; they chipped in money for toothbrushes and toothpaste. A guy out west sent 1,000 toques. A sports marketing company in Toronto arranged for a coffee truck from one of the popular chains.

And the clothing came from all over; most of it was gently used, but not all. Lisa said, “We had some Armani suits. We had new leather jackets. We had vintage dresses and shoes.”

Kate said, “We had kids’ snowsuits. We had three big racks of men’s, women’s and kids’ winter jackets.” Lisa said, “There were boxes of socks; we even had pressure socks.” Pressure socks are important for those who live on the street.

Kate said, “We weren’t going to accept bedding, but someone gave us a quilt set, and someone who came and asked for blankets.”

Any stories that stand out?

Kate said, “An elderly man; his sneakers were soaked through. He got a pair of thermal boots.” She got a little teary: “One of the volunteers got down on hands and knees to make sure they fit.”

Lisa said, “There was no shortage of people with tears in their eyes.” Kate said, “We were handing out flyers and putting up posters on the street. I saw a lady, and her son in a hoodie. I had a feeling. I went over to her and said, ‘Excuse me; I’m one of the organizers of a free store over there. We have things for kids his size, if you know anyone.’ She said, ‘Free? For him?’

“The boy said, ‘Mom, I don’t want to go.’ I said, ‘We have homemade cookies.’ His eyes lit up.” In the end the woman got a winter coat for her son, and some sweaters, and some shampoo and other personal things.

Kate said, “She squeezed my hand and said, ‘Yesterday was the worst day. Today is the best ever.’”

There was a man who came early; a big guy, shy because of his size, and the size of his need. They found him clothes that fit. He said, “I get to throw out all the clothes from my closet that are ripped or stained; this is better than any Christmas.”

There was a man who came late. Lisa said, “The coat rack was almost empty. Then I remembered I had some stuff in the trunk of my car. I told him not to move. I had a big corduroy jacket, I’d washed it and dried it and forgot about it; fit him perfectly.”

And there was a woman, new to Toronto, who was able to find a coat, both warm and stylish, for her first winter here.

In all, more than 50 people volunteered their time to gather clothing, to deliver it to the church, to help set up the store, and to work as a personal shopper; more to the point, some 300 people got clothes or footwear.

Anything left over?

Kate said, “We’ve got a shipment going to the Red Door shelter.” Oh, and someone donated free storage space, and free boxes and packing tape, so they are holding some clothing over for the next Street Store, probably in the spring.

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I’ll keep you posted.

If you want to see what it was like on the day of the Street Store, check out the 46th Street Store Facebook page.