New thrift shop to open at Wilbraham United Church

Date: 3/3/2009

WILBRAHAM -- Wilbraham United Church, 500 Main St., will open a new thrift shop to benefit the church and its ministries on March 7 at 9 a.m. The thrift shop, housed in the church basement in rooms 8B and 10B, will feature gently used clothing, shoes and accessories as well as housewares, art, pottery and crystal, small furniture, toys, books, decorative items and more at very affordable prices.

The Rev. Dr. Charles C. Close, Pastor of Wilbraham United Church, thinks the thrift shop will be a blessing to all. "We are very excited about the opening of our new thrift shop! I think there is a great need to find ways to reach out to the community, to share our resources, to provide a source of high quality goods for a decent price, to recycle and reuse items that would otherwise be turned into waste and to help all of our brothers and sisters in a time of economic uncertainty. Our new thrift shop is a no-brainer. The volunteers, the people who donate and the people who purchase the goods will all blessed -- it is a win-win-win situation!"

Thrift shop manager Dianne Lyons concurs. "The shop will be a valuable resource for those truly in need and for those who just love a bargain. Where else can you get a designer label shirt for $4, a coat for $12 or a book for a buck? In this tough economy, we all need to be mindful of where our money is going, and the thrift shop is a fun and exciting way to stretch every dollar."

In keeping with the reduce-reuse-recycle philosophy of the thrift shop, Lyons enlisted the help of Building Superintendent Bill Howell to create functional and attractive fixtures from materials salvaged from the church basement. "Bill sawed old tables in half for shelves, and transformed moldy, broken cabinets into clean, functional and attractive display cases. Our out-of-pocket start-up expenses totaled $26.05, for spray paint," said Lyons.

After the grand opening on March 7, the thrift shop will be open every Thursday and Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Donations of quality used items are always welcome! Items may be left any time the church building is open. Please, no televisions, computers, luggage or large items. Receipts are available for tax purposes. For more information, please call the church at 596-2511.