Aug. 11--CHAMPAIGN -- College students -- and other shoppers -- have a new second-hand "boutique" close to campus where they can hunt for furniture, household items and clothes.

The Salvation Army of Champaign County is opening a second thrift store near John and Randolph streets, in the old Wild Country space at 109 W. John St., C.

The grand opening for the Salvation Army Family Store and Donation Center is scheduled for Aug. 19, but it may open by the end of this week, said DeWayne Duskin, business adminstrator for the Salvation Army.

The agency's original thrift store, formerly in downtown Champaign, moved to a site on North Market Street near Market Place Mall in 2006.

Business jumped 40 percent with that move, Duskin said, but the agency believes a second location in the heart of Champaign could serve a different market. The new store is close to both the UI campus and a large residential area in central Champaign, he said.

"The traffic patterns are not by any means the same," Duskin said. "We feel that opening a new store will give us greater opportunity to expand our programs here. We're doing it to help our revenue stream."

Store income will be used to support agency programs, from the Stepping Stone homeless shelter and transitional housing programs to the annual Christmas toy and food giveaway.

Like other shelters and poverty programs, the Salvation Army has seen a "huge" increase in need during this recession and is searching for ways to supplement dwindling state support, Duskin said.

A year ago, the Stepping Stone shelter for homeless men housed 12 to 15 people a day; it's now at capacity with 40 people. At the same time, the state is $85,000 behind on its payments to the shelter, Duskin said.

"We're barely getting by sometimes from payroll to payroll," he said.

Overall, the Salvation Army has about 20 employees, both full- and part-time, and a $1.5 million budget. It hired three full-time staff to run the family store, as well as part-time help and volunteers.

The store will have 7,300 square feet, just a bit smaller than the thrift store at the agency's Red Shield center on North Market Street. It will carry roughly the same kind of merchandise, Duskin said, but "there's some thinking that we may try to have higher-quality products at this store."

That includes used furniture and other items geared to college students outfitting a new apartment, for example.

Store manager Tammie Williams referred to it as a "boutique" store. While the Market Street site provides vouchers for Salvation Army clients, the new store will focus on the bottom line so any profits can be used to help the needy, she said.

The store is already well-stocked, with racks of blue jeans, sweatshirts, children's clothes, quilts, pillows, books, shoes and purses. There's also a small amount of furniture, including a sofa bed, chairs, an old-fashioned white bassinet and a changing table.

"We have everything," said Williams, former manager of the Goodwill store.

Store hours are tentatively set at 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Williams said. The store will accept donations at its back entrance, off Randolph Street, during business hours.

The first spontaneous donations appeared a week ago, about the time Williams began moving merchandise into the building. The back room already has 10 giant boxes filled with salvage -- items too stained or damaged to sell. The agency receives a small amount per pound from companies that recycle them into rags or other items.

"Nothing really goes to the trash," Williams said.

To see more of the News-Gazette or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.news-gazette.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

<< -- 08/12/2009>>