Relocated Church Mouse Thrift Shop Plans Weekend Tag Sale

After 11 years at 46 Purnell Place, the Manchester Area Conference of Churches Church Mouse Thrift Shoppe relocated to 456 1/2 Main St. late last month – but zoning issues have thus far prevented the store from reopening.

In the meantime, the thrift shoppe will hold tag sales (weather permitting) this Friday, July 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and this Saturday, July 30 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot behind the MACC Food Pantry at 460 Main St.

“The tag sales are being held to help get clothing [and] small household items out to the community in the meantime,” said MACC CEO Beth Stafford. “It has been a lot of fun and has helped many families get what they need for the summer and back to school.”

Tag sales took place last Friday and Saturday, and more could be held throughout the summer and fall if needed, Stafford added. “The main message we want to get out to the community is that the program piece of the shop is functional and our mission, albeit being carried out differently during this time of reorganization, is fully operational,” Stafford said.

The shoppe – now located in the brown house in back of the MACC Food Pantry – is working on resolving the zoning issues that are keeping its doors closed for the time being.

“We cannot open the shoppe until we get through some zoning issues,” explained Stafford this week. “The Town of Manchester has been wonderful in helping us navigate through this process but it just takes time.”

Stafford did not have a definite timetable for when the zoning issues would be resolved. “All that can be done has been done – it will rest on the (town) now to give us the variance we need to change the current space from residential to mercantile use,” she said. “I do not want to put a date to all of this until we get a confirmation.”

In the meantime, if Manchester or Bolton residents are in need of clothing at no charge, they can contact Debbie Rutledge, Director of Client Advocacy and Support Services at 860-288-4250.

“Debbie will determine eligibility and refer them to Candy Botticello, Shoppe Manager, to help them get the clothes they need,” said Stafford.

The relocation of the thrift store to Main Street allows for MACC to have a one-stop location for all of its services. “We have always wanted a one stop shop for the people who need MACC services and we finally had the opportunity to make this happen when we bought the rest of the houses adjacent to the MACC Food Pantry,” said Stafford.

Botticello also spoke of the benefits of one stop shopping for MACC clients. “Our new location puts us right on campus with the soup kitchen, shelter and food pantry,” she said. “Families are able to shop after eating at the kitchen or getting their groceries at the pantry. We are looking forward to opening at the new location soon.”

The shoppe is a popular destination, drawing around 1,000
visitors a month; in addition, 15-20 volunteers work there on a monthly basis. It sells “good quality, very affordable wear for all seasons,” according to MACC’s website. The site added that the shoppe features “an extensive selection of clean, pre-screened, quality clothing of all types, all sizes, for men, women and children” that are “always updated and seasonal.”

Shoppe prices range from 50 cents to $10, “and we have tons
of half off sales so you cannot beat our prices,” said Stafford.

(Free clothing is given to Manchester/Bolton residents who do not have resources to access clothing even at a minimal cost, according to Rutledge. They meet with an eligibility worker to review their circumstances and then they are given “mouse money,” which is about $30 per person.)

The shoppe receives $250,00 worth of donated clothing each
year from community members, noted Stafford. The majority of shoppe inventory is clothing, but Stafford said they also accept gently used small household goods and bric-n-brac too. “We even get a few antiques – lots of vintage items,” she said.

The shoppe makes sure the clothing is of the highest quality
and clean. “We never put torn, button missing, stained or smelly clothes on the floor,” Stafford added. “Our standard is simple – we ask our donors to ask themselves, ‘Would you wear this or put it on a loved one?’  before they give it to MACC. We give our ‘rags’ to agencies that can use them or recycle them – we do everything possible to avoid putting clothing in our landfills.”

(MACC welcomes donations of clean clothing in good condition
during store hours; the shoppe does not have a drop box, according to the website).

Customers are pleased with the selection of clothing at the
shoppe, said Rutledge. “The people who come to this department in need of clothing love the thrift shoppe,” said Rutledge. “They tell me the clothes are stylish and trendy and no one can tell that they buy their clothes at a thrift shoppe.”

In January, the shoppe was able to help a family that had lost everything in a house fire, according to Botticello. “There were six
children and mom that came in and filled six garbage bags of clothing for free,” she recalled. “They came back again to get more when they made sure everything fit.”

The MACC thrift shoppe has been a part of the community in
some form since the 1970s.  From 1973 through 1992 the clothing bank was operated out of various member churches, and in 1993, moved to the old Birds and Books site on Middle Turnpike East, according to Stafford.

In 1997, MACC was given a free two-year lease at 856 Main
St. on the corner of Main and Parker streets by an anonymous business owner, said Stafford. In 1998 MACC hired a staff member to run the store and manage the volunteers. In 2000, the clothing store was relocated to 46 Purnell Place.

To reach the thrift shoppe, please call 860-647-0800.