Description: St Vincent de Paul Clayfield add your donations today or have a shop.
Location: 279 Junction Rd, Clayfield QLD 4011, Australia (in game approximate given)
Supplemental Information: Vinnies that has been around for a long time. Under the great places for exploration and Unusual or unique local shops. I and many people get off the train and have a look see and a dig for donated goods. The reason this shop is unique is because it takes clothing and other larger goods donations out the back (most Vinnies just take clothes or money). Plus in Vinnies is great place to explore IMO.
281 Junction Road, Clayfield QLD 4011
Addit: The first time this was rejected was because it was “private property or farmland” I provided a clear address and website and was knocked back .This time it is for “not meet(ing) the Wayfarer criteria as it is a regular thrift shop and organization”. I had put in my appeal that Vinnies is a Catholic charity offering a hand up to people in need and Non-for profit organisation. They also run food banks; disaster relief, community support, aged care, youth services among others. Not exactly what I call a generic thrift shop. It also met the criteria as a unique place to explore as, this is shop also takes larger donations out the back such as furniture, Bric-à -brac, cutlery, books, clothes, etc. Always something new to have a look at and is a interesting place to have a look at with friends as I have and I’m sure many people have because this shop has been there for over 20 years and expanded.
Also Opshops are cool especially if it’s for a charity. Better then the post office I’m not stopping there for anything I get emails.
I have to agree with the rejection, especially generic business. Vinnies, per a web search, seem to be a quite generic chain of thrift stores in Australia, similar to Goodwill in the US. Even though it’s a part of a non-profit, that doesn’t mean it meets criteria. I would have rejected this as a generic business as well.
Post offices are allowed based on the historical context of being social gathering spaces for communities; some in rural areas are still gathering spaces. Sending mail in itself can be a social activity, such as sending a birthday or get well card, for example.
But then why are every generic coffee shop allowed to be added then they close down maybe two months later? Unless it’s Starbucks but even those don’t have staying power in Australia.
I googled Goodwill and Vinnie’s is nothing like your American chain store.
scroll down you’ll see the services they provide.
Strangely enough, charity shops aren’t really considered good nominations. The ones we see in game tend to be old submissions from ingress.
In order to get a charity shop accepted now, you probably want to focus on the importance of the work in the community at that specific store, or any social elements it provides.
For example, the shop may offer employment to people seeking work experience maybe with disabilities or other challenges, ie supporting the community and offering a chance to learn about retail. They may organise events to fundraise that may be great for socialising. They might have coffee mornings or other opportunities for the store to become a social hub
I have not submitted any charity shops, but I did successfully submit a commmunity cooperative food store that sold locally produced organic food and offered employment to local people with learning difficulties who needed experience and support. I really focussed on the good they did in the community rather than the store angle if that makes sense.
I would focus on what they do for this part of their website - it does sound like they do some great stuff if they run a support group or training then that means it can link to social or explore critieria
Goodwill is a non-profit that runs thrift stores here in the US. We also have some St Vincent de Paul stores, but they tend to be more local, less connected to a larger non-profit. Goodwill uses their store profits to benefit their charity programs, one of which is to help people obtain employment in underserved communities.
It’s most likely not going to get through. Just looking up all the locations in Australia, there’s several in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perrh, at least 6-8 in each. That’s a generic business in my eyes, and I think most reviewers in Australia view them that way as well.
Starbucks actually had sponsored Wayspots specifically for PoGo that launched in Dec 2016. They paid Niantic to have some of their shores as Wayspots, and many still exist, even if the shop closed. It’s quite hard to get closed Starbucks Wayspots removed due to this, especially since the main sponsorship ended quite awhile ago.
I’d advise you to review the Wayspot Criteria. A locally-owned thrift store not connected to a larger chain would make a great Wayspot, and I’ve even had some approved.
I see what you mean. It’s really odd that charity shops that use this business to help others isn’t a good nomination. It is a place that literally helps put food on peoples plates, clothes them and helps them find a job. Also helps with the odd disaster here and there. Also if you’re really struggling you can call them and they can visit you and help with furniture and limited bills, plus some medical stuff as well. That count as community?
It’s been awhile since I have volunteered at this specific store but they do offer work experience. There is only one person to manage the the area. Everyone else is a volunteer. They do stuff like help out the local footy club etc but that’s pretty normal.
I think all you can do is try your nomination again, and focus on all the community benefit stuff rather than the store stuff. Include links that support what youre saying in the supporting info - a news link to something about their work or a section of their website can both help
I would frame your main image as the logo filling most of the image, or the whole building, depending on what looks better to you. For supporting I think a standard wider angle is okay, unless there’s any indication ie a sign, banner, or space inside that supports what youre saying about the community/social benefit they provide in which case you could use that.
You have to make a really good arguement for reviewers not to vote generic business.
Considering what you’ve said, I would view this as a difficult nomination that can be accepted and isnt ineligible, so I wouldn’t think you’d get in any trouble for submitting it a few times - use the rejections as pointers on what to improve. But try not to get too angry about it. Reviewers are very used to immediately clicking generic business on any store, charity or otherwise. It’ll be hard to change their minds
Yeah, Vinnies has been around since1854 and ties in with the helping societies of Australia kind of where our hospital system and social support systems came into existence. They have over 200 programs and services and are a cultural and societal relevant part of Australia. Being that they offer programs local, state and national wide. These include; food-banks, employment services, medical and bill relief, youth programs, aged care, disaster relief, domestic violence crisis accommodation and support, housing and homelessness.
The list goes on and on, as you can see Vinnies is not just some chain of thrift stores offering employment services to a few under privileged communities. It’s actually relied on by specially Australian government as a resource at state and federal levels. It is also historically part of Australian culture otherwise we wouldn’t have a healthcare system. It’s not the only helping society such as Mission and Red Cross, and I can’t remember the one Mary MacKillop was associated with but one of a few.
I think the main difference here is that the place that you are nominating is an important place to your community, but not for the reasons that Niantic is looking for places to be way spots. To be eligible, it needs to be a great place to exercise, a great place to socialize (Like those coffee shops you mentioned) or a great place to explore. Some novelty shops that offer truly unique things can be considered great places to explore. But I agree with the others, the chain thrift store, even if it serves the community and other charitable ways really doesn’t fit any of the three that well.
Ah, I got you. Still seems pretty un-fulfilling when an actual place that could be in game that is of significance is overlooked for generic coffee shops found every 5 meters that doesn’t actually do anything for the community other then jack the prices up every couple months.
if they run a support group or training then that means it can link to social or explore critieria