Saturday’s grand opening for the Friends of Sinners and My Sister’s Keeper Gifted Thrift Store brought lots of customers, standing shoulder to shoulder, long lines and grateful hearts as they supported the two non-profits’ new venture.
Joe Welsh, Executive Director of Friends of Sinners, and Angel Welsh, Executive Director of My Sister’s Keeper, said they were not surprised by the support they received on their opening day.
“The Owensboro community and surrounding communities have always been supportive of our ministries, but I think I underestimated just how supportive they would be until today, when we opened, and they continued to be that way,” Angel said.
The store’s inventory is roughly 75% clothing—predominantly women’s and children’s clothing—and the remaining quarter is furniture, dining room sets, glassware and the like.
Joe said that the property is located at 1706 J.R. Miller Boulevard and sits at about 6,000 square feet. With this space, they are splitting the building in half, with 3,000 square feet dedicated to the sales floor.
The two organizations split duties as Friends of Sinners manages collections and storage while My Sister’s Keeper stages all the products.
“My wife is really, really good at that stuff, and I just do the behind-the-scenes stuff like picking up stuff, and we do the heavy lifting. She and her team are helping with pricing and have made it into a beautiful thrift store boutique,” Joe said.
The opening day was 14 months dedicated to preparing the building to be up to code with planning and zoning. When they opened, Joe said seeing all the work paying off was good.
Now that the store is open, donations will be accepted at the store, but within their requests Angel said. To stay up to date on what they are accepting, Angel said to follow Thrifty Sister 270 on Facebook to learn when and how to donate.
