Shopping for a cause: Wheaton resale store benefiting STARS Family Services plans move
It's next to impossible to have a case of buyer's remorse shopping at a Wheaton resale store.
For one, it's good for the wallet and the environment. Customers of the STARS Resale Shop can save on women's clothing, secondhand furniture, toys and hidden treasures around nearly every corner. They might stumble upon a wedding dress, an antique trunk or a floral wingback chair in between the racks.
But beyond the thrill of thrifting, shoppers also can know their purchase helps adults with developmental disabilities gain independence, and their aging parents find peace of mind.
Proceeds from the shop benefit STARS Family Services, a nonprofit organization that provides supportive living arrangements and other services so people with disabilities can continue to make their home in the communities they've always known, even when their parents are no longer able to care for them.
By June, STARS will be shining brighter when the resale shop moves to newly renovated space in a furniture store at 303 E. Front St., on the edge of downtown Wheaton.
"We love our location now, and people know we're there, but the building itself will be newer and updated for us," store manager Becky Cook said.
STARS Family Services is an offshoot of the STARS disability ministry at College Church in Wheaton. STARS is an acronym for Seeking To Always Reflect the Savior.
About two years ago, College Church purchased the Toms-Price furniture store building. The retailer has since consolidated into the east section of the building. STARS Resale Shop will fill the center part.
That location has several advantages. The resale store will have more floor space, more parking and a loading dock to unload furniture donations and recycle home goods "into other people's good use," said Nancy Singer, the church's administration and finance director.
"That's a really great thing for us to be able to sell because those things are horrible in landfills," Singer said.
Currently, the shop has outgrown space it leases in a College Avenue building that's over a century old. The shop originally opened in a former convenience store in the corner of the building and eventually expanded.
"As we continued to grow, as we got more donations in and our sales increased, we began taking over more of the storefronts there along College Avenue," Singer said.
By relocating to the Front Street building, the store also will offer more hiring opportunities for people with disabilities who are involved in a church ministry that serves about 140 families.
Some of the residents of the STARS group homes are now employed by the resale store. They'll be able to walk to work when the shop opens in the Toms-Price building.
STARS operates three homes for 14 residents who cook their meals, have household chores and develop other life skills.
"It's just a joy to see them grow in their capabilities and in their confidence levels," Singer said.