Collinsville’s ReStore Raises Habitat For Humanity Funds
By Charlie Feldman
cfeldman@timestribunenews.com
The grand reopening was in February. The Lewis and Clark Habitat for Humanity ReStore resale store had moved to a bigger building with better parking at 1950 Vandalia Street in the Orchards in Collinsville from its old Clay Street location
Then everything shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The doors are open again. The store is once again selling new and gently used building materials and household items to fund Habitat for Humanity house building projects in the Metro East.
All merchandise is donated and sold at discounted prices.
“We opened in June and we’re open three days a week right now,” said manager Carrie Wolf. “On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those are our store hours.
“We take donations from 10 to 3:30,” she added. “We have a donations center behind our building. We’re taking building materials and appliances and furniture and household goods. New and gently used.”
The ReStore store is part of the same organization as Habitat for Humanity. “People with the house building projects are our volunteers as well,” Wolf explained. “They serve on our board and serve as a resource.”
There are other volunteers as well.
“We have about 20 volunteers regularly,” Wolf said. “Most of them are retired people who still have a lot of energy and want to give back to the community. We get a lot of volunteers from Scott Air Force Base, SIUE and businesses in the area having Community Service Days with their employees.
“We’re the only Habitat for Humanity ReStore in our are,” she said. “There are two in St. Louis and St. Charles has one as well. The others concentrate on building materials but we do home goods as well. If you’re looking for anything for the home, you’ll find it here.” Such as, she said, preparing your wall and decorating it.
No new special events are coming up. “We’re still trying to figure out COVID-19 and adjust to that,” Wolf said. “We’re asking everyone to wear the masks. We wear masks and we’re sanitizing donations and the high-contact surfaces.
“The next step in the future is just expanding back to normal hours,” she said. “I have a feeling we’ll be feeling the impact of COVID for the long haul. We’re going to be discovering what the impact of COVID is in the near future and adjusting.”
Donations are tax-deductible.
For more information call the store at 223-1711. For questions about donations and scheduling a pickup, call the donation hotline at 855-9151 or visit the website at http://LCReStore.org and click on Donation Guidelines.
