At Ten Lives we are all about the people, the planet, and pussycats. One way we help all three is through our op shops – and there’s a new kid on the block!
If you’ve been hanging out around the eastern shore recently, you may have spotted the brand-new Rosny Park Op Shop, which opened on 1 July 2025. It’s found in the Rosny Park Bus Mall, across the road from Eastlands shopping centre. In its young life, the shop has already established itself as a popular stop for op shoppers.
All of our op shops have kitties available for adoption, and Rosny Park has had a few adorable ones including Priyanka (loved scritches and a sunbathe), Yuno (always asked for affection), and Tilly (had a wide vocabulary of meows and loved to chirp). It didn’t take long for any of them to be adopted!
This Op Shop and the existing ones in Margate, North Hobart, New Norfolk and Moonah generate necessary funds to help us do our work at the Centre, caring for cats and kittens. For example: if you buy a $3 t-shirt, that will allow us to buy a pouch of food; a $25 designer dress will cover the cost of a vaccination.
Not only can you buy all sorts of clothing, homewares, books, DVDs and collectibles at our op shops, but you can shop for cat supplies. Kitty litter, accessories, food, cat toys… just shop at your nearest Ten Lives Op Shop. All proceeds go straight back to helping kitties at Ten Lives.
Op shops benefit not just the cats, but also the communities which the op shops service. Not only is it sustainable and supporting a circular economy, people just love an op shop!
Congratulations to all the volunteers, staff, builders and customers who contributed to the opening of the shop.
You can drop in quality second hand goods to any of our Op Shops during their open hours.
Meet Paul – The Mannequin Master
Paul is a volunteer at the Rosny Park Op Shop, a gentle giant with a friendly face, cheeky demeanour and self-deprecating sense of humour.
He joined the Ten Lives Op Shop volunteer team because he had some spare time and thought it was a good way to do a bit of good and have some fun along the way.
And of course, he loves cats. Paul’s always had a cat in his life, and his last one passed away peacefully on Friday the 13th of December 2024. It was a black cat, and Paul jokes they “knew the time to go.”
He wasn’t sure about adopting another cat, until he came in for his induction at the Centre and instantly fell for a cat called Shadow.
“A boxy cat,” he says. “Fat tummy with four legs.”
And apparently, Shadow is just as cheeky as Paul. A good match.
Paul enjoys being able to get a bit creative in his volunteer role. He puts together the window displays, trying to add a quirky twist to catch people’s attention. He’s made particularly good use of a very odd item: the bottom half of a male mannequin. At one point, he stuck it upside down in a box to make it look like someone had fallen in. It got plenty of laughs.
Then, for Halloween, he wrapped it in a black garbage bag with the legs sticking out, making it look like the Rosny team were hiding a body (editor’s note: they definitely were not).
Paul’s been with the Rosny Park Op Shop since the beginning and says it’s been popular from day one, and that hasn’t changed.
“People love it!” he says.
Recently, he sold a high quality lady’s leather coat. It was only in the shop for 10 minutes.
He also reckons you gotta be quick. “Beauties don’t last long.”
For anyone thinking about volunteering at one of Ten Lives’ op shops, Paul says, “I tell this to all my friends: just do it.”
He says it feels good knowing that what he does makes a difference. Not only raising much needed funds for the cats, but also helping people on a budget find affordable bargains.
Plus, he says it’s a good team, and you’ll make friends. Friends like Paul.
To join our amazing team of Op Shop volunteers apply at: tenlives.com.au/volunteer
Can’t volunteer? Here’s how else you can help…
Open your heart and home to become a foster carer.
Check out our current cats and kittens awaiting adoption.
Support us by making a donation to the centre.
This story was featured in the Summer 2025 edition of the Scratching Post, which you can read here.
