SEARCY — The Habitat for Humanity of White County ReStore in Searcy has been at its new location at 3702 E. Race Ave. for about three months, and Leigh Anne Hawthorne, affiliate administrator for the organization, said the move has been great for business.
“It’s a constant flow of people,” she said. “Before, it was not. I think the location has brought a ton more people in. We see a lot of the same faces we saw before, but we’ve also seen tons of new people. We’ve almost doubled our income.”
The ReStore, which sells donated household items, used to be on West Mulberry Street in Searcy. The new location on East Race Avenue provides more room for inventory and better visibility near Lowe’s, Walmart and other popular shopping destinations.
The store helps support Habitat for Humanity’s main goal of providing housing for people in need.
“The money from the store goes to building houses,” Hawthorne said. “The administrative costs and such come from fundraising and other sources. The money from the store goes straight to the houses.”
Habitat for Humanity of White County’s ultimate goal is to build three houses every year, and Hawthorne said that right now, Habitat is able to do an average of 1.75 houses a year. So far, the organization has built eight homes in White County — five in Searcy, one in Beebe, one in Pangburn and one in Bald Knob — since originating in the county in 2006. Right now, the ninth house is in the works, and plans have been made for several more.
“We’ve started the ninth one on the corner of Park Avenue and Apple Street in Searcy,” Hawthorne said. “We have another plot next door to it, and we have another plot on Randall Drive we’ll be building on next. We already have families for those houses.”
Between the store and the building projects, Hawthorne said, 90 percent of the work done for Habitat for Humanity of White County is accomplished by volunteers. There are five paid staff members for the organization, but the rest is done by people willing to donate their time.
“We don’t ask our volunteers to work five days a week. We want them to work when they can work,” she said. “If they have two hours on a Tuesday, that’s awesome. We have something for them to do. Even on the builds, there is always something you can do, and we can show you what to do.”
At the ReStore, Hawthorne said, volunteers help get items ready to sell. Sometimes a couch needs a leg tightened, or a refrigerator needs to be checked out before it hits the floor, and volunteers are needed to make those adjustments.
The store sells donated items, including appliances, building supplies, furniture, decorations and “anything you can find in a house,” Hawthorne said. Brand-new rugs donated by an out-of-state company are also for sale at the store for a fraction of their regular price.
With the recent move, the ReStore is able to offer clothes and shoes, which Hawthorne said has been a big seller.
“People are buying thrift clothes,” she said. “Our clothes are $1 apiece other than jeans, which are $3. We want to move stuff. Our goal is to move stuff out, not to keep it on the floor.”
The Habitat for Humanity of White County ReStore is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Volunteers and staff will pick up certain items to be donated. More information about donating or volunteering
can be found by calling (501) 267-5589 or emailing habitatwhiteco@yahoo.com.
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.