One issue that does bother me a bit is the decentralised nature of national organisations that operate thrift shops.
Example 1
If one visits the Salvation Army site (thriftstore.ca), one is provided with a list of provinces. Clicking in, one will ostensibly see a list of shops. If you weren't already aware, a huge number of thrift shops are missing. The Salvation Army in B.C. only lists shops on Vancouver Island south of Mill Bay (missing out 9 in Duncan, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Comox-Courtenay and Campbell River) and west of Langley in the Lower Mainland, thus missing easily over a dozen from Aldergrove to the Alberta border. The Salvation Army also has listings for Central Ontario (i.e., southern Ontario) and Ottawa-Thunder Bay. The Ottawa-Thunder Bay division does not list SA thrift shops in at least North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Kenora, Timmins and Dryden.
Example 2
For other primarily-religious charities such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, you have to look at each regional chapter. Another would be the United Church. A fair number of churches operate thrift shops but each parish has its own and there is no regional or provincial, let alone national listing.
Example 3
Bibles for Missions has many stores, almost all listed on its website. Unfathomably, the Abbotsford (for those not familiar with the town, it is the arguable heart of B.C.'s bible belt) shop is not on that list. There was a reason (I asked) as to why but I forgot. A schism?
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