Sales increase at new St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Bedford
This new facility for a thrift store operated by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Bedford was completed in 2010. A $15,000 contribution from the Indianapolis Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul made the construction of the new facility possible. (Submitted photo)
Special to The Criterion
BEDFORD—“Quite overwhelming” are the words that Kathleen Bullock, the St. Vincent de Paul conference president in Bedford, uses to describe the impact of having a new thrift store.
The Indianapolis Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provided $15,000 to the Bedford conference’s building fund to make the new facility possible.
Because of the resulting surge in sales, the money has already been repaid to the Indianapolis council, Bullock said.
“We were pleased to be a part of the drive to get a new building,” said Patrick Jerrell, the president of the Indianapolis council. “The increased sales will directly benefit the needy citizens of Lawrence County.”
Father Richard Eldred, the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Bedford, said “the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a very important part of our parish life.”
Father Eldred, who is also the pastor of St. Mary Parish in Mitchell, said that he didn’t know how Lawrence County would function without the help from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Bedford.
“The financial support from the Indianapolis council pushed the fundraising efforts over the edge,” he said. “It was a wonderful combination of support from our local people and Indianapolis.”
Longtime volunteers Mike and Dolly Sowder said the Bedford thrift store had been located for nearly 20 years across the church parking lot in an old building—a former house built in 1910—that was crowded and lacked the facilities and amenities in the new building.
The St. Vincent de Paul Parish conference volunteers are celebrating the first anniversary of the opening of the new building. The volunteers are now able to use a cash register, telephone and check-out desk, and enjoy heat and hot water. There are also bathrooms for volunteers and visitors.
The number of volunteers nearly doubled—to 44—with the opening of the new store, Bullock said. “We went from about 900 [square feet] to 2,800 square feet. We own the building, while the church owns the land, which we lease for a dollar a year.”
Bullock and the other volunteers knew the change of facilities would have a major impact on the amount of assistance that they could provide to people in need. That was confirmed when the receipts from the first day in the new store were several times more than the regular sales at the old store.
With the added space, more items can be displayed so visitors will find more kitchen and household items, small electronics, and an expanded area with clothing for infants, children and adults.
Dolly Sowder recalls the first thrift store that opened in the 1980s. “There would be two women sitting in chairs with TV trays and a cigar box for change.”
Even before the first store was established, she added, parish volunteers had helped those in need with food deliveries as well as donations of clothing and other items stored at the parish.
The volunteers started a building fund several years ago, and when the plans were announced for the new building more money was donated to the fund.
The volunteers are already thinking that they are outgrowing the newest facility, but no one is complaining when they look at the steady rise in receipts.
“All of our funds stay in Lawrence County,” Bullock said. “People here, in a county with 10 percent unemployment, don’t have to worry about not being able to afford something. Anyone with a little bit of money can come in and buy something. And if they need it and can’t afford it, we give it to them. It’s been an absolute blessing.”
Jerrell agrees.
“We were so pleased to be able to help by sharing this money that has already come back to us,” he said. “We’ve made a financial commitment to help St. Mary Parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Conference in North Vernon [Jennings County] with its new thrift store project.
“We’re well aware that the downturn in the automotive manufacturing sector and resultant job losses has had devastating effects on our small southern Indiana communities,” Jerrell said. “We’re committed to sustain and expand our network of St. Vincent de Paul parish-based conferences to address the needs in these small communities.”
(For more information, to volunteer, to make a contribution or to start a parish St. Vincent de Paul conference, contact the St. Vincent de Paul Indianapolis Council office at 317-924-5769 or log on to www.svdpindy.org.) †
