Habitat ReStore busting at the seams
Published 9:46 am Thursday, September 19, 2019
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Life is never dull for Tiffany Rycroft.
As manager of the Habitat Restore on Wilkesboro Street in Mocksville, she oversees donations of furniture, clothing and just about anything you could think of that come in every day. She also sees that it makes it to a shelf or place in the crowded store for shoppers to see.
“It’s like moving every day,” she said, taking time to talk after helping put a sofa back together. “It’s amazing to see the traffic that comes in and out of here.”
Part of Habitat for Humanity of Davie County, the store helps fund the building of houses to be sold to financially struggling local families at prices they can afford.
Rycroft has been there for eight years, after leaving a job with UPS because it required too much lifting. She lifts even more now, but has become passionate about the store and the population it serves.
“I enjoy what I do. The first time you go and see a family get their new house, it’s worth it. It makes a huge difference,” she said.
The top sellers are furniture and clothing. Not accepted or sold are TVs, mattresses or boxsprings, or as Rycroft puts it, “anything with holes, stains, rips or smells.”
The Wilkesboro Street store has been open since 2014, and it’s already crowded. Habitat is looking for a bigger space, but that would mean the need for more volunteers, as well.
“We’re getting more donations than we can get on the shelf,” Rycroft said.
“Employees build a rapport with the community,” said Tammy Taylor, director of Davie Habitat. “Everyone I’ve talked to say we love the people at the Restore.”
The Restore offers pick up and delivery of items, and is open from 9-5 Tuesday-Friday and 9-4 on Saturdays.
Rycroft has honed the art of pricing items. “You put on there what you think you would pay for it,” she said, adding that she sometimes looks up a value if she thinks it is something worth a lot of money.
The Restore gets donations of new items from Lowe’s about once a year, and those are offered at half the normal retail price. They also get a lot of Christmas decorations – often new. Many of those are sold at the annual iShopDavie expo put on by the Davie Chamber of Commerce.
They work with Family Promise and other non-profit agencies to help provide for those in need. “The non-profits are all here for the same purpose,” Taylor said. “There’s reciprocity.”
The store gives away books to teachers, has a free section and offers a “Big Deal of the Day.” They’ve even helped people pick the right clothes to wear to a job interview.
There are no toys at the Restore, or bicycle helmets or car seats or other things that may have been the subject of a recall.
“The profits do go to building our homes,” Taylor said. “Because this is a ministry, we have to run it like a business.”
And Rycroft runs that business like it’s hers. Stop by, you may find something you need or want.