Thursday, April 5, 2007

Thift store opens in Oskaloosa

by Kenneth Lassiter

Five years of discussions and the cooperation of a local church culminated recently in the opening of the non-profit “New To You” thrift store at the junction of highways K-92 and US-59 in Oskaloosa.

The store opened March 6 at 105 Jefferson in the former location of A Child’s World Day Care Center and is sponsored by the Jefferson County Service Organization and the Northeast Kansas Community Action Partnership.

A small group of volunteers have been manning the store and are looking for other helpful volunteers willing to serve.

Lynn Luck of JCSO and Karen Wheeles were among the group of people who worked on getting the thrift store put in place. Wheeles said intermittent discussion about starting a local thrift store began about five years ago but accelerated over the past year when the Good Shepherd Thrift Store in Tonganoxie stopped serving Jefferson County patrons in order to focus on Leavenworth County citizens.

That decision has since been reversed but organizers still decided there was a local need for a place for people to buy used clothing and other items. A meeting with Bob Wininger of NEKCAP helped give the idea “steam” as Wheeles said, and it now has come to fruition.

“The money we have in place to help people here in the county really doesn’t begin to do all that needs to be done,” Luck said. “We’re hoping the sales will pay the utilities and insurance. Basically it’s a place for people to get nice clothing at a low price.”

After deciding to move forward with the store, the next question was to find a location. After about a year of searching, the First Presbyterian Church was able to offer the former day care building at a very reasonable monthly rent. The church was also integral in getting the house ready for use.

“The Presbyterian Church has been very supportive and generous in getting this place ready for us,” Luck said. “We especially want to thank Carl Ward, who reroofed the house. The church people have really done a lot of things to help.”

A couple months of minor-to-moderate renovation work, including some furnace work, got the place ready for business and the thrift store fills several rooms with clothing for children to adults, some bedding items, kitchen items, books and other various wares.

Luck said the store also has a used washer and dryer available and a used refrigerator for sale, although those items aren’t kept at the store. The store is open in April from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, 3 to 6 p.m. Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 14, 21 and 28, and by appointment by calling Wheeles at 785-213-4481. Wheeles said the store accepts donations of gently used clothing and toys only on Tuesdays.

The store is especially in need of children’s clothing in efforts to beef up the inventory, which the organizers plan to change weekly. Most items range in cost from 25 cents to $3.

“All our sales go to meet our costs and then to help with direct assistance,” Wheeles said.

She pointed out the store also has gun locks to offer for free as provided by the sheriff’s department.

Organizers plan to have a space in the store for flyers for other non-profit organizations and events.

“The costs are really minimal because it’s all volunteer work. We want to make sure people understand all the money spent here will be kept in Jefferson County. Every cent we make gets turned back into the county, no question.”

Jo Cross, who along with Wheeles, Wininger and Tammy Peterson comprise the regular volunteer workforce at the store, says they are hoping to build up a group of volunteers to help spread the work among many.

“Really, our ideal goal would be 10 or 12 people so one person would only have to work once or twice a month,” Cross said. “It would be nice to have two people here to work when it’s open.”

Some exterior work is still needed behind the house and volunteers are tackling quandaries in space and organization as they come along.

Wheeles said she is hoping to keep the hours steady from month to month but the availability of volunteers will make the difference in that area.

“We send flyers out to area churches to post,” Wheeles said. The store is also focusing on spring and summer items and household goods.

“We’re also talking about having ‘buck a bag’ sales from time to time. The first one will probably be sometime in May.” Wheeles said the first month of business went well as organizers were able to make more than costs with the benefit of only word-of-mouth and flyer advertising.

She said although the volunteer force for the store is somewhat minimal, many others helped make the store a reality.

“We had at least 10 people who came and painted when we were getting ready but weren’t able to volunteer and work here,” Wheeles said. “I’ve been really pleased with how we’ve done so far. Saturdays have been busy, and we expect weekdays to pick up when summer hits.”

For more information or to volunteer, call Wheeles at 785-213-4481.