'It's bittersweet': Ukrainian Free Store closes during move to new location

It's a new year, new location for the Free Store for Ukrainian Newcomers, which has closed temporarily while it prepares to move to a bigger space.

It's something owner Janice Krissa-Moore didn't think would ever happen.

"It's been a crazy eight months of the Free Store," said Krissa-Moore, who came up with the concept with her daughter. "We started this and we thought it was going to be a two-week thing."

"But people just kept coming and coming."

The store, previously located at 10137 104 St., supplied Ukrainian newcomers with home furnishings at no cost. In the time it's been open, Krissa-Moore estimates between $25,000 and $50,000 worth of items were donated each week to help more than 5,000 people.

"I can't believe the generosity, I can't believe the impact to the environment with all the recycling we've done," she said. "I'm just thrilled with the results of what happened with this little store."

Many Ukrainian newcomers arrived in Edmonton with little to nothing, Krissa-Moore said, and the store was a place to help them build a home here in the city. It was also a place to build community.

"So many friendships have been built here, many Ukrainians are here without their families, but we have created a new family through the Free Store," she said.

"It's really helped with that sense of belonging, that sense of purpose and just getting their lives back together."

Many clients have become volunteers, including Khrystina Chechurak, who came to Edmonton alone from Ukraine six months ago.

"I found [out] about the Free Store, came here and now we became like a small family," she said, adding that she started volunteering because she knew how others were feeling and she wanted to help.

"If you will help someone, someone will help you."

Saturday, volunteers gathered up the last remnants from the old location, packing them into moving trucks and vans. Despite never thinking the store would grow so much, Krissa-Moore she's sad to see the need continue.

"It's bittersweet," she said. "I wish the Free Store didn't exist, because then that would mean there was no war."

But there is, she added, and the new store will be there to support the existing community and the new members coming into it.

"I think everybody will feel the love there like they did here," she said.

"I hope this new year will be better than [the] previous and we all will be doing much more good things for each other," Chechurak.

While it hasn't been announced yet, the new location will be downtown and accessible by transit. They're expecting to announce in the coming weeks on their Facebook page.

During the transition, the Free Store will be closed for a month, so donations will not be accepted at the old location. Instead, they can be made through the Jasper Avenue Eye Care Group.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb