Antrim Coast Lions Club Charity Shop
Where to find us;
**Temporary venue**
18 Harbour Rd, Carnlough, Ballymena BT44 0EU
Shop History
The charity shop in Carnlough was the brainchild of one of our members, Emilie Maguire. In April 2013 Emilie, her husband, PJ, and family visited Medjugorje, a small town located in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were struck by the poverty of Bosnian refugees and the enthusiasm of a nun, Sister Josephine. After meeting her, Emilie announced that she was going to raise £30,000 to build a house to help. No one was quite sure how to react to this announcement! They were similarly taken aback when Emilie declared, on the plane home, that she was going to open a charity shop…however, she was as good as her word.
Emilie took the lead in finding premises and, with the help of the Lions and the community, the shop became a reality. In 18 short months the shop had raised enough to be able to finish the building of the house in Medjugorje. Since then the shop has been run by a sub committee of The Antrim Coast Lions Club.
The shop only opens 12 hours per week but in this limited time we continue to generate enough to be able to contribute to various Lions appeals, give substantial donations to major NI Charities, run a successful annual carnival and support village needs at community and individual levels. Most recently the club and shop helped support Ukrainian refugees fleeing their homeland due to the ongoing war.
Sadly Emilie passed away in February 2022, however she lived to see the incredible results of her initiative and her legacy will live on in the work of the charity shop. (Pictured left with her husband PJ)
Without the shop, the Antrim Coast Lions Club would struggle to continue the valuable work and events we undertake. With the ongoing financial pinch, we have partnered with the Larne Food Bank as a collection and distribution centre helping those in need of the service at a local level.
Another overlooked avenue is the shop often acts as a social centre where people meet and have a laugh as well as putting the world to rights!
The shop gives the Antrim Coast Lions Club a full time presence in the village and a warm welcoming hub for 12hrs a week.
For the small team of dedicated volunteers who staff the shop and the club members who tirelessly work behind the scene to keep the shop stocked, promoted and ticking over we can’t thank them enough. It’s hard work but, for so many reasons, we don’t know what we would do without it!