By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Chatham’s New Life Thrift shop started in the pandemic with a hope, a prayer and a sign out front.
Five years later, the Queen Street business is thriving. The store helps fund the Chatham Christian School and also supports a number of local charities. To date, the initiative has donated $190,000 back to the community. A different charity is chosen each month and a portion of that month’s sales are donated.
“It was full steam ahead,” said treasurer Chrystal Koopman of the April 2020 opening. “The community has been behind us since day one and they’ve been coming in the door ever since. It’s been a blessing.”
The store, that resells gently used donations, is run by a volunteer board of directors. Currently there are more than 100 volunteers who help out – many of whom have been with New Life from the get go.
“It started out with very humble beginnings in somebody’s kitchen,” Koopman said, as volunteer staffers starting selling items online in 2017. “But the husbands got sick of that,” she joked, so the next move was to open a store.
That led to the construction of New Life Thrift at the corner of Richmond and Queen streets. Previously, the site was home to a business that burned down beside an empty lot. After buying the store, New Life volunteers got together, hunted down the owner of the lot and purchased it, thereby allowing them to double to the size of the store.
“When we bought it, it was in complete ruin from a fire,” Koopman said.
However, hard work paid off, as organizers were able to pay for the new brick structure in one year’s time.
“I think we’ve rejuvenated this corner,” Koopman said.
“We could not be happier with the way things run,” said board member Tony DeKoter of the outlet, noting that despite limited advertising, the customers keep coming as the good news spreads.
In addition to the main store, New Life Thrift also runs a holiday-themed outlet two doors down. Dubbed the Christmas Closet, the store runs for six weeks during the holiday season, opening on Nov. 1.
“It’s been a great success,” Koopman said. “The community comes out and lines up. They line up out the door.”
The Three Oaks Cabin, a mental respite facility for farmers and first responders located near Florence, is the latest non-profit to benefit from funding. Last month New Life Thrift donated $4,650 to the organization.
Coffee and passports
Local MP Dave Epp is going into caffeine overload and organizing passport clinics in the area in the near future.
The passport clinics are taking place June 24 in Wallaceburg and Bothwell.
The Wallaceburg clinic runs from 10 a.m. to noon at the Adult Activity Centre on James Street.
In Bothwell, a clinic will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bothwell Scout Hut on Oak Street.
The next day, Epp, MP for Chatham-Kent–Leamington, is holding a series of one-hour informal Coffee With Dave chat sessions at restaurants across the municipality.
His day begins at GraveDiggerz’ in Highgate at 7:30 a.m. From there, he’ll be at Burns in Dresden at 9 a.m.; then Fast & Fresh in Thamesville at 10:30 a.m.; at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham at noon, and then The Black Goose in Wallaceburg at 2 p.m.
Barbershop-strawberry social
Mrs. Bell’s Tea Room is having a combination of fun June 19.
With sittings at noon and 6 p.m., the tea room on Grand Avenue East is hosting a strawberry social, with entertainment from the Kent Chordsmen barbershop quartet at the evening sitting.
It all began when shop owner Wanda Bell was gifted an old, flat straw hat worn by the donor’s grandfather when he was a member of the Chordsmen.
Bell was able to connect with a current member of the quartet that still entertains in seniors’ homes in the area, and now they’ll be performing in the tea room.
“I am excited to combine an old-fashioned barbershop quartet with my Strawberry Social Tea party,” Bell said in a media release.
Cost is $31.97 per person and tables can be reserved online at [email protected] or by calling 226-627-0248.
- Business Voice is a bi-monthly column in The Chatham Voice that highlights some of the achievements made and efforts underway in Chatham-Kent’s business community. Send your information to [email protected].
