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Saturday, September 19, 2009
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New thrift store has three missions
Senior Reporter Common goods for the Common Good.
That's the message displayed inside the new charity thrift store - Common Goods - which opened Sept. 1 on Highway 371 North next to Lake Region Storage.
The store is owned by Bridges of Hope, a Brainerd-based nonprofit Christian organization that links lakes area families with resources of support. Bridges of Hope's stated goal is to help families thrive. Resources include help with family and parenting issues, employment, health care, housing, transportation, food, chemical dependency, grief and legal services.
About Common Goods
Clean, gently used and saleable items are sought as donations.
Clothing, jewelry, maternity wear, purses and accessories, vintage clothing, antique furniture, housewares, artwork, stainfree bedding and complete linen sets, good condition furniture, home furnishings, wooden ladders, complete board games, toys, books, cookbooks, CDs, DVDs, gift bags, paper and plastic bags, musical instruments and yarn.
For large items such as furniture, pick-up may be available.
Donations are tax deductible. People will get a receipt for the goods at the time of donation. Items Common Goods is unable to use are shared with others, including The Salvation Army, Dorcas and the Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Brainerd, Salem West in Deerwood or the Lakes Area Pregnancy Support Center.
Volunteers are needed to sort donations; repair' household items; restock the sales floor and help with floor displays; to mend, launder and press clothing; to attend the dressing rooms; to provide office support; along with other areas.
Items Common Goods will not accept are appliances, baby equipment and furniture, construction materials, electronics, mattresses and box springs, sleeper sofas and water beds.
The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Donations are accepted between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, although preferred drop-off days are Tuesday through Thursday.
For more information, call 824-0923.
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In a trend with nonprofits, the charity thrift store proceeds help Bridges of Hope fund its community efforts. At time of economic struggle nonprofits are faced with a combination of reduced funding and increased need.
Suzanne Welch, Common Goods store manager, said the reasons for the store are three-fold: to raise revenue, as an outlet for people who want to volunteer and as a way to keep goods in the community for reuse.
Welch said reasonably priced products were leaving the community just when there was a need for them or going into the landfill because it was easier to dump them than figure available donation times.
Tami Lueck, Bridges of Hope executive director, said three grants went into starting Common Goods from the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, the Initiative Foundation, and the Crow Wing Power Community Trust.
Lueck said the charity thrift store offers Bridges of Hope a revenue source so the nonprofit won't have to be so dependent on grant funds in order to meet local needs. The store's funds also come without strings that sometimes can be associated with grant dollars, giving Bridges of Hope more flexibility to respond to community concerns in its support of families and service gaps.
"When there has been a need in the community we've looked to meet that need," Lueck said, pointing to efforts with the Crisis Nursery to provide a valuable resource for parents.
In addition, Common Goods is able to act as a work training site to help people with skills as they may be trying to get back into the job market. And it is designed to tap into the people who want to volunteer for community service. Common Goods hopes to tap into area youth groups and church groups to reach teenagers.
"Thrift is such a trendy thing right now," Welch said. "I always shopped thrift (stores) for books and puzzles."
Common Goods has an array of books organized for shopping ease. Colorful paint transformed weathered tables and cupboards as a way to give shoppers reuse ideas. Some store items may be unexpected like a basket near the check-out counter filled with collectable U.S. stamps torn from envelopes mailed decades ago. Other treasures, perhaps a stuffed animal or a well-read book, go into a bin where children can pick one item for free.
Welch and Lueck said they wanted to create something a little different than other thrift stores. The Hope Chest in the Twin Cities was an inspiration with its community interaction. Common Goods wants to attract groups to use the store's space and add vibrancy, such as a book club meeting or knitting group.
Outfitting the former Lake Region Electric & Lighting store was a reuse process in itself. A checkout counter came from Grand View Lodge. Other items were donated from the ReStore, including lights that were donated to the ReStore from Lake Region's building and have now come full circle.
"This will be a really good place to build awareness about Bridges of Hope and what we do in the community," Lueck said.
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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