Michaela koppel does not have much money at her disposal. She can no longer do her job for health reasons, so she has been dependent on hartz IV for two years. Since that time she regularly comes to kulmbach to rummage in the clothes closets here. Today she is at the BRK-sozialladen in fischergasse.
Also washing on offer
"I’m not looking for anything special today, just looking at what’s available and what I like", she says and looks through the clothes in the BRK social store. "That’s not what I like so much. But that doesn’t matter", says koppel and goes to the underwear department: lace bras, underpants with fine lace, unusual underwear, but also everyday underwear is available in the BRK store. The munchbergerin finds nothing in it, also such things used to buy.
She has long since shed her shyness. She is happy instead about the favorable prices. A pair of pants costs three euros, shoes two. Nice clothes that normally cost over 100 euros are available at the social store for five or six euros – and even suits and jogging suits can be had for that price. "For people on hartz IV, we give another fifty percent discount", explains elke fischer, who runs the store for the BRK.
A delivery lady has just arrived. She brings two new tuttons full of clothes and doesn’t want to have anything for it. The clothes are good, clean, all buttons complete. Wolfram fischer, a volunteer at the BRK social store, immediately puts the new goods on the shelves.
In the social store, it’s almost like before the corona crisis. The customers have remained loyal to the store – and they are glad that it is open again: mondays, wednesdays and fridays from 1 to 5 p.M., tuesdays and thursdays from 9 a.M. To 3 p.M.
Behind plexiglass
At kukatz, the second-hand store of the geschwister-gummi-stiftung, almost everything is the same as usual. However, inge jersch now sells and collects behind a plexiglass window. To protect herself and the customers. Only a maximum of four customers can browse in the small rooms. "A run or quite a lot of new customers are not to be registered now with us. But that is still a bit too early. If we feel the effects of the crisis, then this will only be the case later", says elsbeth oberhammer from the siblings rubber foundation.
The kukatz specializes mainly in children’s and youth clothing. And there are just sugary things: jeans in size 56, dungarees for the smallest and rompers, t-shirts and sweaters in all sizes. "We like to have a look around because we are expecting a baby. You don’t have to buy everything new for a baby, the children only wear the clothes for a few weeks, then it doesn’t fit anymore", said chrissi and ronny, two parents-to-be. The proud mom is still slim and slender, but she wants to take care of herself. "You don’t know if there’s going to be another lockdown. Better to look when you have time. We are actually against the waste. And the prices fit here too. You can even buy a bit more", says the expectant father.
At the moment there is a stop
The used-goods sale of the geschwister gummi foundation is run by a group of 20 volunteers. "Of course, we had to protect the people who do this voluntarily during the crisis. That’s why we had – like all the others – to. But now it is sold behind plexiglass. Everyone has to wear a mask and there are stands with disinfectant", oberhammer explains the rules. At the moment, however, kukatz has stopped taking orders, because winter goods will be on the shelves from september onwards.
The same rules also apply at caritas in kulmbach: "lieblingsstucke" heibt der laden im untergeschoss des caritas-zentrums. From 20. July, caritas offers a special promotion. "We always take a summer break in august. And before that, we want to sell off the summer merchandise", explains soraya hebentanz from caritas. The store not only got a new name, it was also redesigned: with glitter fabric and its own dressing room.
Nothing is sold here
And also the opening times are new. Because in the future the store is "lieblingsstucke" not only open on mondays and thursdays from 9 am to 11 am, but also on wednesdays from 2 pm to 4 pm. Christel dressel and erika sollmann are part of the wednesday afternoon team. Caritas also offers men’s clothing: jackets, jackets, pants, advertise the two ladies. By the way, nothing is sold at caritas. The goods are only handed over against a fee – and that is between 50 cents and four euros.