The Free Store
Sharing - With enough for all!
The LIFE*SPIN Free Store 2024 regular hours:
Tuesdays, 10:00am-2:00pm,
and Wednesdays 3:00pm-7:00pm
Please register below (with ID) to come shopping!
*Please note: Please Register again this year if you have not yet in 2024. We ask if you can please register for 2024 at the Free Store as Registration must be done once every year to shop.
Thank you!
The Free Store’s
Stage 3 of our COVID Safety Plan for Shoppers…
Welcome to the Free Store! Please watch Dan explain the process of the Free Store, to both shoppers. See you at the Free Store !
All shoppers must be registered on-line, using the Intake Form below - including your ID.
For the safety of our volunteer staff and our customers, no one is permitted to shop without verification of their identification (ID). You can attach your ID to this registration form, or show it at the door the first time you come and we will match it to your on-line registration form.
If you do not have ID, and if unhoused or at risk of being unhoused, please visit the London InterCommunity Health Centre – they have an ID clinic to assist you to obtain your identification.
If you do not have ID and are on OW, ODSP or low-income, please visit Service Ontario and bring any documents with proof of address. Some support services, such as Ark Aid, Indwell, etc. will submit group orders for you to pick up where you receive other services. Ask your support workers there, if this would assist you.
Each household can shop at the Free Store once a week.
Registered shoppers will line-up at the side, on Ontario Street, 3 meters from the door, and you are asked to stay back two meters from the person in line in front of you.
Before registered shoppers enter the store, we will ask your first and last name, as entered on your on-line registration form. We will provide you a clean mask and hand-sanitizer.
If you did not register on-line, you must fill out completely a paper registration form (with ID). Personal information is not shared at LIFE*SPIN.
Two registered shoppers will be permitted at a time, for up to 15 minutes.
We request only one registered shopper from each household enter at a time.
Limited quantities of new items may be available. Each Shopper is welcome to one new outfit per week, so all of our valued customer have a chance to receive one. “Sharing” with enough for all.
Housewares may be available (such as linens and small kitchen appliances).
For safety, our staff will take a Rapid COVID Test each morning, before opening. In the event that someone tests positive, the store will not be able to open that day
The Code of Conduct is posted at the door. For the safety of our volunteer staff and other shoppers, this will be strictly honored by all who enter. Disrespectful conduct will result in immediate suspension of this opportunity for a minimum of one month.
Thank you for your patience and kindness during this transition.
Sharing ~ with enough for all
Please complete the information below and submit.
note: if you registered in 2023, you have to re-register to shop in 2024. Registration is once yearly.
The LIFE*SPIN Free Store Donations
We help relieve poverty through hosting a Free Store at 872 Dundas Street
Government cutbacks, increasing rents, and declining incomes have contributed to London's rising poverty rate. With the increasing decline in funding of social service agencies, LIFE*SPIN’s contribution to society becomes increasingly valuable. Drawing from extensive experience in providing mediation, housing for the homeless, and a food security program, LIFE*SPIN became aware of the urgent need for decent clothing and household articles for the clients referred to us by a broad array of social service agencies. DONATE TO THE FREE STORE:
The LIFE*SPIN Free Store is now reopened!
*We are in need of baby and children’s clothing at the Free Store!
Please consider Donating In-Season Clothing in excellent Condition.
Donations are accepted on Tuesdays, 10:00am - 2:00pm and Wednesdays 3:00pm - 7:00pm
The demand for items offered at the Free Store is growing annually, so we are always looking for donations. The LIFE*SPIN Free Store accepts and distribute donations of household items, toys, sporting equipment, books, tools, “in-season” new or clean used clothing, etc. Please ensure the items are cleaned and are in excellent condition. Our store is very small and we deeply appreciate the time you take to help get all items ‘shelf ready’.
The Free Store does not accept donations of furniture, food products, used car seats or used cribs. As we have limited space, we request that the following items are donated elsewhere:
Garage-sale leftovers
Out of season clothing or clothing that is not in excellent condition
Knick-knacks
Toys or games that are tired or missing pieces
Books/magazines/puzzles
Used underwear/socks
Toiletries that have been opened
Anything that needs to be repaired
The Free Store
872 Dundas Street, London, ON N5W 2Z7
Open Tuesdays 10-2:00pm and Wednesdays 3:00-4:00pm
For Drop Off: come up Ontario Street at Dundas Street - Look for The Donation Drop Door (the white side door), and please ring the bell.
Please do not leave items without notifying us.
Donations
Acceptable Household Items:
Towels, Bedding
Dish Sets (Sets of 2 or more)
Cutlery Sets
Small Appliances
Toasters
Blenders
Food Processors
Rice Cookers
Mixers
Irons
Blow Dryers
Curling Irons
Large Item Donor Registry
LIFE*SPIN may also facilitate getting donated appliances and furniture to the people who need them. It is critical that these donations are in working order. In order to donate, please call us and a volunteer will try to connect you with someone on our waiting listing in need of this item.
*It is up to the parties to arrange pick up/delivery among themselves. LIFE*SPIN will put you in contact with the individual, but we will not arrange the exchange.
Thank you Odie!
On behalf of MPP Lindsay Mathyssen, our Odie, the Manager of the Free Store, received the Queens Jubilee Pin for her volunteer work and contributions to our community.
We are so proud of you Odie, and we are so proud of the Free Store! Thank you for all that you do!
Volunteering
If you’re considering re-entry into the workforce, volunteering is a great way to get experience in your area of interest, and meet people in the field. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to practice important skills used in the workplace, such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, project planning, task management, and organization. You might feel more comfortable job searching and interviewing, once you’ve honed these skills in a volunteer position first.
History of the Free Store
The concept of a free store first surfaced in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, during the summer of 1967. It was the inspiration of Peter Berg and Emmett Grogan, who both belonged to the San Francisco Mime Troupe, a "guerrilla" theatre group using street theatre as a way of organizing the hippie community. As a put-on and a parody of a capitalist economy based on money, the free store became a part of a spontaneous network of enterprises criticizing private ownership. Together with the provision of free food, free housing and free garages, the clothes supplied by the free store were given away as common property to anyone who needed them. At the same time, anyone who wanted to help distribute clothes and organize the store were welcomed. In other words, for a brief period of time, the slogan "from each according to his/her ability, to each according to his/her needs" became a working reality.
At its best, the free store incarnated a spirit of brother and sisterhood which encouraged people to treat one another as whole persons, and which aimed at undoing the competition-for-scarce-goods mentality, introducing instead a sense of sharing-with-enough-for-all.
Over the years, the free store idea has expanded to include open space in cities, to be used for growing communal food. Food, like clothing, shelter, education and health care, is a basic necessity of human life. These are human rights. They should be FREE.