JUST like Chinese restaurants and Greek cafes, there was a time when every country town in NSW had a St Vincent De Paul store, commonly known as "Vinnies".

From October 24 to November 6, Vinnies is celebrating 100 years of its stores in NSW, with in store celebrations right across the state.

Today there are 226 Vinnies stores in NSW including Bourke, Nyngan, Cobar, Lightning Ridge, Warren, Condobolin, Gilgandra, Walgett and Coonabarabran, and the profits from the sale of goods in these shops helps to assist around 300,000 people experiencing disadvantage and homelessness each year.

The Nyngan store has recently re-opened following COVID 19 and repairs to its building, and celebrated with a morning tea where around 30 past and present volunteers came together to celebrate the 100 year milestone and to share stories about the organisation.

The gathering took place "out the back" in between the racks of donated clothing where volunteers enjoyed tea and coffee served from donated porcelain cups and saucers and cut a special anniversary cake.

Vinnies retail manager at Nyngan, Jan Fuller has been volunteering at the shop for the past 21 years and has seen it become an important gathering place for other volunteers, and customers.

“We get a lot of positive comments from customers when they come in here, especially travellers, about how lovely and bright our shop is,” Mrs Fuller said.

ABOVE: Nyngan Vinnies volunteers Father Abraham, Denise McCarthy, Kathy Hewlett and Mary Smith 

 "Like everywhere we are becoming very short of volunteers. There are currently seven of us and most of us work two days a week. We would love some more to come and join us. The work is very rewarding and it’s a fun morning out,” she said.

The St Vincent de Paul Society provides services and programs for people across Australia, helping those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, providing crisis accommodation for people experiencing domestic or family violence, and assisting with health, addiction and financial issues.

The Vinnies shops came from the need to fund these programs and services, and started with a Newtown shop in 1922.

St Vincent de Paul Society NSW CEO Jack de Groot said Vinnies Shops were an institution in Australia where people could discover a treasure and give it a second life.

“Our shops play an important role in making our services sustainable, along with reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfill," Mr De Groot said.

“We have Vinnies Shops in 226 locations throughout NSW which rely strongly on the generosity and goodwill of volunteers who give of their time to support the community."

“A lot has changed over the past 100 years but the core of Vinnies Shops remains the same in giving items a second life and using the sales to help people who fall on hard times.”

To celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the shops, Vinnies has "hidden" 100 extra special treasures in its stores. These are brand new items that have been donated by premium labels such as Acne Studios, Alex and Trahanas, Bassike, CAMILLA AND MARC, Jac + Jack, Lee Mathews, Mulberry, and more. There will be clothing, shoes, handbags, jewellery, homewares, a jersey from the Tigers NRL team, and items signed by music legend Jimmy Barnes.

The treasures are hitting the shelves in selected Vinnies shops between 24 October and 6 November.

In addition, customers who purchase any item at Vinnies during this time can go into a draw to win one of two special prizes - a vintage Chanel handbag or a DeLonghi La Specialista Arte coffee machine.