Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
A new second-hand store will open shop in Napanee next month with the goal of turning donated items into proceeds for St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church and local charities.
Launched by Chris Yeomans, his mother Sharon Yeomans and Marg Robertson, Napanee Charitable Thrift Store will be located at 113 Richmond Blvd. They plan for a soft launch on April 1 with a grand opening on April 6.
Proceeds for the items sold will be split 50/50, with half going to St. Mary and the other half to local charities.
“We thought instead of just doing it for the church we would help some local charities as well,” said Yeomans, who came up with the idea while working on his masters in Business Administration. “We’ve decided 50 per cent will go to the church and different ministries here at the church and 50 per cent will go to the community.”
All items sold will be donated from the community and will include clothing and other household items.
“Everything is staffed 100 per cent by volunteers,” said Yeomans. “The only real expense we have are rent, telephone, heat and hydro. The main expense of any business is usually salary and we don’t have that.”
Though it is associated with the church, anyone looking to volunteer, donate or shop at the store doesn’t have to be part of the church.
Yeomans says added benefits of the store will be providing high school students with opportunities to serve their community service hours, giving volunteers a place to be social, proving retail experience for those who may be looking to add to their skill set, all while diverting perfectly good items from the landfill.
An information session for anyone interested in volunteering will be held March 20 at 7 p.m. at 113 Richmond Blvd. They’re currently looking for volunteer cashiers, merchandisers, social media advertisers and a board member.
“One thing people have been asking is are we talking away from Salvation Army,” said Yeomans, noting that the Napanee Salvation Army Thrift Store operates in a similar fashion. “That’s never been our intent. When I did my research it showed that the more thrift shops there are in town, people jump from thrift store to thrift store. You actually help each other out.”
He says the Napanee Charitable Thrift Store volunteers will also be sure to mention the Salvation Army Thrift Store if customers aren’t able to find what they’re looking for in their store. Once launched, the Napanee Charitable Thrift Store will run Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone looking to donate items is encouraged to first call the store at 613-354-0123 to make sure they can accept the items as their is a list of certain things they can’t sell at a second hand store.