Tributes have been paid to the “passionate and tenacious” founder of All Aboard charity shops Stella Lucas, who has died aged 107.

Lucas opened the first “All Aboard for Charity” shop on Finchley Road in north London aged 70 and led the charity into her 100th year before standing down as a trustee and director in 2017.

Growing up in Hackney, east London, Lucas started volunteering aged 14 by helping people at the Stepney Settlement, which looked after older people and delivered the Meals on Wheels scheme.

She married her husband Victor in 1938 and the couple continued volunteering with community projects in the areas in which they were both passionate – cricket, community building and Jewish philanthropy.

During Victor’s tenure as president of the United Synagogue, Lucas volunteered as convenor of the Board of Deputies central enquiry desk in the 1980s when she noticed hundreds of requests from people wanting to donate unwanted clothes.

This gave Lucas the idea to recreate the concept of the Oxfam charity shop with profits going to local community projects.

The charity’s name is both a rallying call to acts of charity and a reference to one of its earliest supporters, the Board of Deputies, which agreed to stand surety at the bank if she needed a loan.

Lucas opened the first All Aboard charity shop with three friends, volunteers Monique Landau, Trudie Reiss and Jeffrey Pinnick. Another friend loaned Lucas initial rent money, which she repaid in two weeks.

She collected donated goods from her wide network and sold them in the shop to raise funds for charities including Jewish Care, the Association of Jewish Ex-servicemen (AJEX) and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

In 2010, the charity relocated its offices to Edgware High Street and the building was named Stella Lucas House in her honour to mark her 94th birthday.

When All Aboard moved to a new warehouse, distribution centre and central office in North Watford in 2016, Stella Lucas House was relocated there too.

During her 30-year tenure, she oversaw the chain’s expansion to almost 20 charity shops, with more outlets opening since.

Lucas was awarded an MBE for services to the Jewish community in London in 2003.

‘There’s always something that needs doing and you could be the one to do it’

Lucas was a member of St John’s Wood United Synagogue, whose senior rabbi Ivan Binstock conducted her funeral. 

Rabbi Binstock said: “Stella will be sorely missed by the St John’s Wood community and United Synagogue family. She passed away peacefully on Shabbat [Saturday] at the age of 107.

“The last three weeks when she wasn’t in the synagogue was the longest period of time outside of Covid when she hadn’t attended shul!

“When asked for her secret she would say: ‘Keep busy! There’s always something that needs doing and you could be the one to do it!’

“She threw herself into all areas of community life being the first to sign on for educational and social events.

“At the age of 101 she resigned from All Aboard in protest at their decision to open some of their shops on Shabbat [the Jewish sabbath]. May her memory be a blessing.”

Naomi Dickson, chief executive of children’s charity Norwood, said: “On behalf of everyone at Norwood, I was so saddened to hear about the passing of Stella Lucas.

“Stella was an exceptional, personable lady who brought people together with the sheer force of her warmth, commitment and enthusiasm, and was inclusive of all.

“Across a lifetime of giving, Stella was a true pioneer for volunteering, uniting disparate organisations from across the spectrum of the community behind her vision of working together for the greater good.

“Our community, our communal organisations and the people we collectively support owe her a huge debt of gratitude for her trailblazing work, and we will maintain her legacy by continuing to uphold the values and initiatives she championed. May her memory be for a blessing.”

Daniel Carmel-Brown, CEO of Jewish Care, said: “We are immensely grateful to Stella for her ingenuity and dedication, which led her, along with other volunteers, to create All Aboard.

“The shops raised incredible funds over the years to support Jewish charities and Jewish values.

“These funds have helped to support Jewish Care in our work to deliver excellent care that is Jewish at the heart to our wonderful older care home residents, community centre members and their families. 
 
“Stella achieved so much in her lifetime. She leaves behind an incredible legacy and her work continues on. May her memory be a blessing.”