Share Some Sugar Pop Up Swap Shop and Last Bites Bakery set up a
"donation or trade" shop Main Street every Saturday. Located in the space next to Park + Vine until Model Group leases the space, you can bring unwanted items to donate, sell, or trade with others in the community. Items leftover are donated to
Churches Active in Northside (CAIN), who is affiliated with five local drop-in centers, which donate items to families at the center in need.
Items range from clothes, books, old copiers, toys, and random household items. People come in looking for something different and usually find what they need. However, the shop is a different concept from Goodwill, as donations are free for those unable to afford everyday needs. The space not only gives back to the community, but also provides a space for people in the community to come together and socialize.
Jess Prussia, the owner of
Last Bites Bakery, started to contribute to the donation shop in December after
Park + Vine owner Dan Korman asked her to be a part of this charitable event. Prussia sells her bake goods as well as gives free samples every Saturday, and immediately fell in love with the concept.
"Recently a family came in to look for warmth," she recalls. "They asked how much the toys cost and they were shocked when they found out it was for free. The dad started crying because the free items gave the family a Christmas."
Prussia hopes that the pop up shop concept will continue throughout the city in order to encourage charity and help vacant spaces be rented. She notes the great support of the Main Street area in enabled the pop up shop to happen.
"Main Street has grown massively and it is for the people who live there," she says. "Because of the desire to build Over-the-Rhine, the pop up shop has been a huge success.
Writer: Lisa Ensminger
Photography by Scott Beseler.
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