More than a thrift store: local business is a community outreach
by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor
With a tough economy around the holidays there?s an Onaway business that has many area residents counting their blessings. The Second Chance Thrift Store (SCTS), in the former Tom?s IGA building at the corner of State Street and Lynn, has become a local ministry.
Owners David and Chantel Bacon established the business nearly a year ago, not only to offer area residents a place to purchase used items at a reasonable price, but to help others.
?THIS IS something the Lord gave me a burden and a passion for, many years ago,? said Chantel. ?When we moved up here, we moved up trailer loads full of stuff for a thrift store. With eight kids of our own, we had a good start.? The couple moved to the area from Otter Lake near Frankenmuth.
?It?s something the community obviously needs,? said David, who ran for the school board earlier this month. ?We?re trying to help the community the best that we can.? The couple will be celebrating their first year in business Dec. 8. With a big helping hand from Don and Robin Grainger they first opened for business in a small building which housed the Ben Franklin Store before it moved to the former Great Northern Drug. SCTS opened at its current location July 1. The business has continued to expand the donation-run operation and has aisles of clothes, small appliances, tools, toys, games and house d?cor.
A woman expecting additional guests for Thanksgiving was in the store Tuesday buying an extra stack of plates.
THE COUPLE has been working with the local churches to inform them that their business is there to serve the needs of others. ?We are an interdenominational ministry,? said David. ?We?re affiliated with all the churches in town, not just one.?
Anyone needing assistance needs to contact their local minister/pastor, who will then pass along the name(s) to the Bacons. ?Usually it?s clothes, or if they have a special situation where a house has burned, we can try to accommodate with dishes, or whatever they might need,? said Chantel. SCTS recently provided assistance to a mother and four children who lost everything in a fire.
And Chantel is doing what she can to shake the stereotypical thrift
David believes the foundation of this community outreach can be found in Matthew 25:25-36: ?For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me?
?We can?t do anything with food, but we are trying to meet people?s material needs,? said David. SCTS will have Black Friday sales and deals, and will be conducting drawings throughout the day.