The store was established on June 28 1998. 

Store manager Charlene Brownfield said the Daylesford area also had assistance services long before that time.

“The assistance would have been home visits, helping with food, fuel and utility bills. Mostly food,” she said. “We no longer have an assistance centre in the area but the Ballarat service centre still services Daylesford.”

Ms Brownfield said she had volunteered at Vinnies in Bendigo for a couple of years before moving on to a retail assistant role and then moving to Daylesford for the store manager role.

“The outcome is a lot more positive than other retail stores. I like the fact that we are a not-for-profit organisation that assists the community that we are in. 

“You see so many different kinds of people come through. Working here, you see the help that people get (from Vinnies) that you don’t know about until you start to work here,” she said. “You get to learn a lot about people and their back stories. It’s very rewarding and makes you feel great about what you do.”

Ms Brownfield said the store would like to thank the community for all of their support and donations over the years.