Shop Owner Invites Help

Sherri Wheeler knows what it’s like to need something. That’s why she is donating clothes to Ruth Ross, the 74-year-old woman who lost her home and all of her belongings when her son, Richard Ross, set fire to the family’s 87-year-old Valley home last week.

It’s also why the single mother of three started Sherri’s Consignments, a second-hand clothing store in the Spokane Valley.

“It’s hard to lose everything you have,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler’s shop at 11622 E. Sprague is filled with suits, skirts, dresses, shoes, sweaters and jackets, which she sells on consignment. The clothes are clean, brand-name items that are three years old or newer. Anything not sold within six months is normally donated to charity.

However, this time Wheeler has offered to donate clothes from the store’s sales inventory to Ross and has also brought items from home to donate.

Wheeler’s compassion comes from experience. She was on public assistance and a graduate of the Building Bridges to Employment program, a free, month-long, class in Spokane for the disadvantaged, when she opened the consignment shop.

“I’ve been there. I know what it is like to need something,” Wheeler said. “I was in need myself when I started this.”

Many of Wheeler’s employees and customers would also have offered to donate clothes from home.

“It’s not fun for anybody not to have clothes,” Wheeler said.

Anyone interested in making a donation to Ruth Ross can do so at Sherri’s Consignment, 11622 E. Sprague. Ross wears a size 44 blouse and pants with a 44-inch waist. Sherri’s inventory is limited in larger sizes.

, DataTimes