Vancouver Street Store 10.0
The Vancouver Street Store is a free, outdoor pop-up store, facilitated by Employ to Empower, that aims to provide a dignified shopping experience for the Downtown Eastside residents and community.
About The Street Store
The Vancouver Street Store is a free outdoor pop-up store, facilitated by Employ to Empower, that takes place annually in December for residents in the Downtown Eastside. The goal of this event is to provide a dignified holiday shopping experience where residents are uplifted and offered a hand up rather than a hand out.
At the event, guests can choose up to 10 gently used women and men clothing items, toiletries, shoes, backpacks, and winter accessories.
Since 2014, the Street Store has made an impact in the community by working with 1,021 volunteers, sharing 82,773 donations, providing 500+ free haircuts, and spreading holiday cheer to more than 8,851 residents.
Street Store 2023 Information
We are thrilled to announce the 10th annual Street Store will be on Saturday, December 16th at Oppenheimer Park. This year’s theme is HOME, a place where one feels a sense of belonging, love, and community.
Event Date: Saturday, December 16th
Event Time: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Oppenheimer Park (400 Powell St.)
Our Supporters
Donation Drop-Off Information
We are grateful for your gently used clothing donations to ensure our community is warm during the holiday season.
Please note: We have two drop-off locations depending on the date.
1. Employ to Empower Office (319 West Pender St. Unit #350, Vancouver, BC)
2. Sorting Hub (Overdose Prevention Society, 141 East Hastings St., Vancouver, BC)
2. Sorting Hub (Overdose Prevention Society, 141 East Hastings St., Vancouver, BC)
To ensure we don’t miss your drop-off, please fill out the form below to help us with scheduling.
Donation Collection List
What we only accept:
- Men’s Winter Jackets + Pants
- Women’s Winter Jackets + Pants
- Men’s + Women’s New Underwear
- Men’s + Women’s Sweaters
- Medium-sized to large-sized backpacks
- Warm blankets
- New Towels
- Sleeping bags
- New Socks
- Unopened Toiletries
- Winter accessories (gloves, scarves, hats)
- Winter boots (especially larger sizes)
- Handwarmers
- Unopened Dog Treats
What we’re NOT accepting
- Summer clothing (t-shirts, shorts)
- Kids clothing
- Hotel size shampoos / toiletries
- High heels* + Open-toed shoes
We ask the community to be thoughtful about their donations as we want to ensure that your donation will go to people who need it. If items like summer clothing / kids clothing are donated, they are often leftover and get donated to a thrift store. For maximum impact, please only donate high priority items to better serve the community and save our staff time in sorting.
Have Questions?
Contact us about any questions you may have for the Street Store! We're always available to provide you with support.
Contact Us