A charity thrift store is to hold its first outdoor market today to try to keep its elderly volunteers safe from Covid-19.Isabella Hall, the spokeswoman for Encore Thrift Shop, the fundraising arm of St John’s Church in Pembroke, said most of the shop’s volunteers were seniors, who were among the most at risk from the coronavirus.Ms Hall added: “The volunteers at the thrift shop are usually our beloved seniors and they would operate every Saturday morning.“Then protocols came into place and, being seniors, they fall into the vulnerable category, so there was an element of how are we going to get back to business?“The volunteers had a meeting and the decision was made, for the comfort and safety of everyone, to have an outdoor market instead. The grounds are expansive, there is lots of parking, and it’s central.“There will be tables with some freebies — CDs, books and so on and we will also have $2 bag sales for whatever you can stuff into a brown paper bag.” Ms Hall said there would be a lot of clothes and household items for sale as many people had decluttered their homes during the shelter-in-place lockdown. She added: “We want to sell everything if possible, it’s all been sorted through.”Proceeds of the sale will go towards charities that work with the disadvantaged. Ms Hall said: “There has been a big increase in demand — the church office gets very distressed people calling who can’t afford to feed themselves.”The market will run from 10am to 3pm.It will be postponed to next Saturday if the weather is bad.The thrift shop said it hoped that the “practice run” would be the first of many outdoor markets and that other vendors would take part.The charity said that all customers must wear face masks and stick to Covid-19 rules on social-distancing.