SPRING VALLEY – A new thrift store in Spring Valley is blessed and open for business.
The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store, located at 9742 Campo Road, had its grand opening on May 13. Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido, joined by other Catholic clergy, was on hand to bless the 5,000-square-foot store and participate in the traditional ribbon-cutting.
The thrift store, which is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., represents a collaborative project among the Society of St. Vincent de Paul conferences based at several local Catholic parishes.
These include nearby Santa Sophia Parish, which is visible from the store’s parking lot, as well as Christ the King, Holy Family, Most Precious Blood, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (San Ysidro), St. Francis of Assisi, St. John the Evangelist (Encinitas), St. Pius X (Jamul), St. Stephen, and San Rafael parishes.
The conferences’ presidents voted last October to support the project by providing volunteers to staff the store and hosting “fill-the-truck” events at their parishes, where parishioners can drop off donated items before or after Mass.
In exchange, the net proceeds from the store will be shared among those conferences to fund their charitable work, which includes helping people to pay their rent or utility bills, buy food, make car repairs so that they will have reliable transportation to work, and more to prevent them from falling into homelessness.
One of the store’s volunteer staffers expressed her pride in the new establishment.
“It looks more like a boutique than a thrift store, but the prices are thrift store prices,” said Jeanne Obenchain, who described it as “clean, bright (and) welcoming,” with “lovely displays.”
The store’s Catholic identity is also apparent inside. Various religious articles, including statues of the Blessed Mother, could be seen for sale in the display case near checkout. Meanwhile, adorning the walls, a series of posters shares quotes from such Catholic luminaries as St. Vincent de Paul, Mother Teresa, St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Benedict XVI.
Obenchain, a member of Christ the King Parish, said that the store’s inventory includes “a conglomeration” of items, ranging from clothing and housewares to books, children’s toys and furniture.
Customers were already lined up outside the store prior to the blessing ceremony, awaiting their opportunity to peruse the merchandise.
The thrift store already has “a huge backlog” of donations, said Obenchain, but isn’t yet as well-staffed.
“What we need are a lot of volunteers to keep this place running smoothly,” she said. “We are looking for 80 volunteers a week, and right now we have maybe 10.”
Jeffrey Beamguard, a Phoenix resident who serves as store support director for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s national council, provided expert guidance to the new store’s volunteer staff over the past six to seven months. He was also there at the grand opening.
Beamguard, whose runs one of the Society’s two “model stores” and assists others to reach their potential, said that the Society operates about 400 thrift stores across the country.
“This store is going to provide funds for neighbors in need,” he explained to the assembled crowd outside. “That’s the goal with all of the profits that are left over at the end of the month. For people that are in need of services, they’re going to contact their local parish, and we’re going to try to help out as many of those folks as we can.”
Later, in an interview with The Southern Cross, Beamguard reflected on why the Society chooses to focus on homelessness prevention rather than services to those who are already on the streets. He explained that it costs “about 10 times” more to accomplish the latter than it does to pay some bills to “keep them afloat” and “just to get them over the hump.”
“We just want to give them that … extra time to go find another job, get their car fixed if that’s what it needs,” said Beamguard. “Sometimes, it’s just their car broke down, they can’t get to work anymore, and they get fired. So, it’s just those little things that St. Vincent de Paul helps with that makes all the difference in the world in keeping somebody from being homeless.”
In addition to raising funds to help the poor, Obenchain said, the thrift store is prepared to provide direct assistance, if needed.
“If some homeless person comes to the door of the store,” she said, “we’ll invite them in and say, ‘Go choose a shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of shoes, and help yourself.’”
Obenchain said the thrift store also provides a way “to reuse clothing and furniture and not have it end up in a dumping ground,” with all of the concomitant effects that such wastefulness has on the environment.
“I hope (for the store) to be a big success,” she said, “to help as many less fortunate people that we can.”
St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store
Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.
9742 Campo Road
Spring Valley
Phone: (619) 505-3900
Website: svdpthriftsd.com
