Customers queue for charity shop opening
Retail has returned to the biggest shopping space in Middlesbrough’s Dundas Shopping Centre after a gap of six years.
YMCA – the world’s oldest and largest youth charity – has opened a superstore there, offering bargains for customers and a step on the career ladder for its volunteers.
Twenty-one-year-old Thomas Charlton, who will work between the new shop as well as the YMCA shop in Captain Cook Square, said: “It would obviously be nice to get paid but I’d much rather be busy and help people. Sometimes it’s harder to get into a job when you don’t have one. It shows people that you are willing to work.”
The new store is the YMCA’s 12th in the North East and sells everything from dining room tables and beds to baby’s clothes and women’s posh hats.
The unit had been occupied by Boyes until it moved out in 2018 and for the past three years it has been used as a temporary job centre.
The YMCA asked Mark Bythway – who runs ASB Football Shirts in the nearby Dundas Indoor Market – to perform the opening ceremony to thank him for donating football memorabilia.
The Dundas Shopping Centre is managed locally by Dodds Brown and its Senior Associate Richard Wilson is confident the arrival of the YMCA will boost footfall. “People were queuing before it opened its doors for the first time. Hopefully, that’s a good sign of things to come,” he said.
“The shopping centre and indoor market offer a great choice for customers who have to be sensible about how much they spend. That’s why the YMCA is a perfect fit.”
Although it is a global charity, a share of the profits from the two Middlesbrough shops will go to the Tees Valley YMCA to support the area’s young people.
As well as the new store, the YMCA also has a new retail area manager who brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role
Former professional footballer Andy Davies played at centre half for his hometown club Hartlepool United, as well as Torquay United, under legendary managers Cyril Knowles and Neil 
Warnock.
After running his own business he had a successful senior level career with the UK’s biggest retailer Tesco, before working for convenience store giant Spar and then Home Bargains. He joined the YMCA six weeks ago.
“I had several options and this is what appealed most,” he said. “It’s really important to me that the culture of the company is focused on the people and not just the numbers.
“You see all these empty shop units around the UK – particularly in the North East – and it’s really sad, so it’s nice to see people give it a go and give something back to their local communities.”
He added: “It’s for a fantastic cause. The money that we raise here does some amazing things. This isn’t like your average charity shop. I think we do things better. The quality of the stuff we sell is better and at fantastic prices.”
The YMCA is looking for more volunteers and appealing for donations. Larger items, such as white goods and furniture, are collected for free.