During this tough economic time, three local thrift stores are still managing to meet demands for cheaper clothes and supplies, all the while supporting their individual charities.
One such store, Our Lady of Libera Thrift Shop, at 5821 Washington St. in West New York, sells shirts and pants for $1 and suits starting at $3, among a variety of other garments. They also sell discounted household items and electronics, hoping to fill a need in the community and help the church pay its bills.
“There are those people who honestly need it. They can’t afford to go to department stores and pay those prices.” – Rita Landisi
________
“Then, there are those people who honestly need it,” said Landisi. “They can’t afford to go to department stores and pay those prices.”
Other women who volunteer at the shop said that they often assist foreigners living locally, who collect items to send to their families back home.
“They look through the racks, the clothes racks, for summer wear to send to their country,” said Rose Indri. “We get many people that do that.”
Helps in other ways
Landisi said the shop also helps support the Our Lady of Libera church.
“It keeps it afloat,” she said. She added that due to declining numbers in the congregation and the current national economic crisis, donations to the church are not what they used to be. Thus, proceeds from the shop have become critical in paying for electricity and other necessities.
The shop also currently has an apprentice, a volunteer from Africa, Odette Faye, who says she will apply what she has learned at Our Lady of Libera to the thrift shop she plans to establish when she returns home.
“I am going to open it, not for me, but for helping my church, like here,” she said.
In addition to supporting the church and teaching others how to do the same, the volunteers at Our Lady of Libera said they also sometimes donate clothes to shelters for battered women and the homeless.
Homeless shelter’s shop
A homeless shelter in Union City, the Palisades Emergency Residence Corporation (PERC), has its own thrift shop at 113 37th St., though most of the clothes that are donated are distributed free at the nightly 6 p.m. dinners at their nearby facility, 111 37th St.
“We usually have a bunch of clothes that have been donated to PERC that are still in good shape,” said PERC Executive Director Jeff Brunner. He added that the shelter has recently had a steady stream of donations and that those are usually clothes for men and women and sometimes children.
Brunner said the thrift shop occasionally gets household goods and other items. He said money from those sales goes to support the shelter.
Art space
The ArtsEcho Galleria, at 3809 Park Ave. in Union City, supports the local arts community by providing a free space for artists to exhibit and musicians to play. The space is afforded by the proceeds from its own shop.
ArtsEcho Executive Director Sandra Bendor stocks the boutique with gently used and sometimes new designer clothes at a fraction of the retail value, as well as shoes, jewelry, and even a few pieces of furniture.
“We get very special items here for very little,” said Bendor. She added that her contacts in the art and designer worlds help her gain access to select merchandise.
“We have things like Dior jackets for $26,” she said. Other labels in the shop include Dolce and Gabbana, Eileen Fisher, and DKNY.
“I love designer clothes that cost $2,000, as long as I can sell it for $50 or $60,” said Bendor.
She said she also enjoys searching for items for the shop on her own, and if she finds a great sweater with a missing button, well, she’ll fix it before it hits the shelf.
The item in highest demand right now, said Bendor, are her designer jeans, originally priced at $300, now selling for $30.
“We keep the prices as low as we can,” she said. She added that every penny goes back to keeping the gallery open.
“Because we don’t have to make a profit on it, it gives us leeway to do good things,” said Bendor.
Amanda Staab can be reached at astaab@hudsonreporter.com.