Business offers a good cause — and good deals

By MARK NEWMAN Courier staff writer

June 22, 2009 04:15 pm

— OTTUMWA — Volunteers say their new business may be “nonprofit,” but customers still get a great deal.
Ottumwa’s newest thrift store, Klassi Kloset, sells a mix of “gently used” items and new merchandise that has been donated to the store. Profits are directed to Impact Ministries International’s “Feed the Nations” program.
“Yes, there are hungry people ‘in our own backyard’, but not like this,” said co-manager Donna Garber, who recently returned from South America.
She said there, and in other places supported by Feed the Nations, such as Africa, children starve, in many cases going hungry so often, they wither and die.
It’s good to help those here at home, she said, but the people of the United States do have enough to share with the poorest of the poor.
Other countries can’t — or won’t — help its children the same way the United States does: Food stamps, welfare, the Lord’s Cupboard run by churches. In the United States, Garber said, children may go hungry, but there are resources available, and the little ones need not starve to death.
“I think if everybody got a chance to go to one of these nations, they’d come back wanting to do something,” she said.
While “do something” often means to volunteer, raise funds or write letters, in this case, even shopping can help.
Klassi Kloset strives to be more of a “boutique” store, said Pam Schulz, president of the 10-person local board that oversees the store. Items aren’t piled up or crammed onto racks. There’s room to browse, she said, because volunteers don’t put every item available out at once; they’re goal is to keep the store organized and comfortable.
That also means if one is seeking something specific, especially a large item like a bed, it never hurts to ask, Schulz said.
“And we get new things in all the time,” she added, pointing out some newly arrived baby clothes.
Items included women’s jeans at around $3 to $5, new shoes for children priced at around $3 and, tucked away on a shelf, an antique-looking serving bowl for $2. “Pricier” items included a couple of formal gowns ranging from $8 to $20, and a older pink upholstered chair for $10.
Schulz said their location, at the corner of Jefferson and Pennsylvania on the north side, is convenient for those using the bus as well as those looking for a parking space.
For those who want to donate clean items in good shape, a volunteer is available to come pick up.
Local businesses have been helping out wherever they’re needed, said Schulz, and she doesn’t just mean with merchandise. In fact, until they get a phone installed, the employees at Ladyfit said people can call there, and they’ll go upstairs to tell volunteers.
With the number of volunteers they have now, the store is mostly open in the afternoons: 1-7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, though they also open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
Their current phone number in the Ladyfit building is (641) 682-3005.

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