A VILLAGE shop opened and run entirely by volunteers is celebrating its tenth anniversary of successful trading.
Feckenham village shop has gone from strength to strength since a need for a shop was highlighted in the parish plan, galvanising a group to get together to see what could be done.
“I was recruited before the shop opened to help with fundraising and grant applications,” said Jenny Mason, who still plays an active roll in the business.
“There had been a shop before in the village but not for some 22 years,” she added.
Officially opened by then Redditch MP Jacqui Smith, to keep costs down everything was run on a voluntary basis – and still is today.
“Two-and-a-half years ago we opened a coffee area and that has become very popular with cyclists, and we also get a fair amount of passing trade as well as from within the village,” said Jenny.
“And with the garage next door we often have people popping in for a cup of tea while their car is being fixed.”
As well as selling every day essentials over the years the shop has developed a deli area featuring delicious cakes made by a local resident.
“When we started none of us had any experience of running something like this but over the years we’ve grown and we’ve still got new ideas coming in,” said Jenny.
Profits are ploughed back into the local community.
“We’re not owned by anyone and our first aim was to get a reasonable amount of money into the bank to guard against a rainy day,” she said.
“Now we give money back to village groups, like Feckenham Wake and the flower show and church. We have a very active village here and there’s always lots going on.”
