Charity A Neat Place Everything Still Free For All But Center Not A Free-For-All
Three months ago, the cavernous warehouse looked like a bomb exploded inside, creating mazes of broken pottery, old clothing and forgotten toys.
Since then, God’s Warehouse, tucked off East Sprague at 111 N. Crestline, has been transformed into a tidy building, with racks, labels and hundreds of customers. There’s a board of directors with weekly meetings. There’s a delivery service for elderly and disabled customers. There’s a cleaning woman.
Customers line up outside to pore over shelves of used dishes and glassware, racks of winter clothing, boxes of toys and rows of romance novels and magazines.
Still, it’s all free.
“We started from zero, my two sons and myself,” said customer Jim Sherman, whose suede jacket and shoes came from God’s Warehouse.
Business has grown from a trickle several months ago to a steady stream. The warehouse, run by volunteers, is open from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The shop will close for the holidays, and for the founders’ wedding, from Dec. 14 to Jan. 2.
Most thrift stores’ business takes a holiday during the month of December, as customers opt for new gifts and presents.
“They’ve got it drilled into their heads that they need to spend money on new products before they check out the second-hand stuff,” said Melissa Meyers, who handles daily operations for the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store.
The holiday season is busy at God’s Warehouse, attracting people who have little to no money at all.
The warehouse now has a sign-in sheet for customers, but no one is limited in trips or in items. About 60 families come through each day, most telling variations on the same story. They lost everything. They moved out of the shelter, into a new apartment. They lost their job.
Susan Maravilla lost her cashier’s job three weeks ago. She fingered the store’s sweater rack and carried a heavy pink sweater and jeans over her arm. With her husband, she lives in a trailer.
“We have no electricity,” she said. “It’s an old, dumpy thing, but it’s our home.”
Ashley Achtemeier, 7, filled a plastic bag with Christmas presents for her 2-year-old brother, Alex. Their parents shopped for items to fill their new Colville home, which they built from scratch.
“There should be more places like this, is what there should be,” Lydia Achtemeier said.
The donated items have poured in, although a donation jar for money holds few bills. One Metaline, Wash., man donated his entire thrift store.
“I said, ‘You haul it, you can have it,”’ said Trent Hanson, former owner of the Square Deal Trading Post. “I thought it was the best thing to do.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo