Five thrift shops have teamed up to launch a Second Hand Saturday initiative to coincide with the busiest week of shopping in the year.

The project is aimed to encourage residents to support the Island’s thrift shops and raise awareness of the vital role they play,

Second Hand Saturday will take place this weekend at the Bermuda Red Cross, Center Against Abuse, Salvation Army, St George’s Foundation and The Barn.

The thrift shops will be opening at their normal times.

But charity boss are hoping that the shopping frenzy will rub off on Bermudians and spark a new interest in thrift shops.

“We would like people to appreciate that there are all sorts of bargains every day at thrift shops across the island,” said Barbara Brown, manager of The Barn,

“We hope that if people want to get involved with Black Friday and everything else they will also want to support Second Hand Saturday and Bermuda’s thrift shops.

“We will be having surprise, on-the-spot specials as well as a special price on Bermuda books at The Barn.”

Suzanne Decouto, fundraising and communications manager for the Bermuda Red Cross, added: “We are trying to encourage people to get down to their thrift shops and see what great stuff is on offer.

“A lot of people do not know what the thrift shops do or even where they are, so we are trying to address that and raise community awareness.”