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Most, if not all of you, know that Perdido Bay Methodist Church has a thrift store. But how many of you have ever shopped there? How many of you have donated your unwanted items to it? How many of you have volunteered to work there?
You might be surprised at what a small store with not quite 2,700 sq. ft. of shopping space can sell. In 2024, we rang up 50,208 sales which averages out to 193 sales per day. These are just a few of the items we sold:
- 32,938 shirts
- 16,650 books
- 11,655 pants
- 203 coffee pots
- 7,419 shorts
- 122 vacuums
- 6,929 dresses
- 3,027 framed/wall art
- 1,728 bras
- 11,922 games and toys
- 2,615 pairs of socks
- 911 belts
- 6,537 pairs of shoes
- 3,158 mugs/cups
- 2,679 purses and wallets
- 540 chairs
- 6,713 pieces of jewelry
- 694 wires/cords
- 635 tools
- 2,926 greeting cards
- 1,547 pet items
- 592 gift bags
- 528 sheets
- 1,296 towels
So, what does it take in manpower to accomplish all this?
Two shifts per day for 4 days per week, 18 people for the first shift and 15 for the second. Then one extended shift on Saturday with 15 people plus 3 extra for the first half of the shift. That’s 150 shifts to fill each week. Our volunteers put in over 23,000 hours in 2024. This includes our wonderful Grumpy Old Men, who take in the donations, sorters who check every item to see if it is up to our standards, pricers who research items to make sure we are charging fair and accurate prices, runners who put all items on display and maintain the sales floor, dressing room attendants and loss prevention officers who keep an eye out for would-be shoplifters, greeters who make the customers feel welcome, and cashiers who cheerfully engage with each customer while ringing up their purchases. Sounds like a lot of work, right? It is, but it is also fun and rewarding. Come volunteer with us and you’ll see for yourself.
What do we do with the items we don’t want or can’t sell?
Items that have been on the sales floor for more than a couple months get donated to Teen Challenge as well as items that aren’t quite up to our standards. I say this because we have to be picky with the limited amount of space we have so we try to keep only the best items. This is everything from clothing to shoes, home décor to automotive, baby to pet supplies, and so much more.
- To Achieve Academy, we give khaki pants and shorts and white polo shirts for all grades.
- To several of the local elementary schools we give clothing for them to keep in the event a child has an um “accident” they can have a change of clothing and not miss any school while waiting for parents to bring a change of clothes. We also save school supplies for teachers to use in their classrooms.
- We give blankets, socks, shoes, coats, jackets, hygiene items to Liberty Church for their homeless program.
- To Pathways for Change, a program that helps people transitioning from prison life to living on their own, we give bedding and bath supplies.
- We give towels and pet supplies to the Pensacola Humane Society, Pensacola Wildlife Refuge, and several local veterinary offices.
- Prescription glasses are given to the Lions Club.
- We give food containers to the Barnabas ministry, a feeding program of Perdido Bay Methodist Church and we give donated food to the food pantry at Perdido Bay Methodist Church to give to people in need.
So where does the money go?
The Mission Board of Perdido Bay Methodist Church determines how the funds are to be used. These are the programs we currently support:
- School Backpack Feeding Program for 6 local schools
- Bright Bridge Ministries Feeding Program
- Mobile Food Pantry
- Escambia County Family Promise
- Friends of Pensacola State Park 5K Fun Run
- International Mission Trips
- Kairos Prison Ministry
- Local Missionary Vivian Johns
- Partners in Education at Achieve Academy
- Angel Tree Christmas Gifts
- Back to School Bash
- Easter Meals and Thanksgiving Meals
- Night of Joy Special Needs Gala
- Peanut Butter Challenge
- Prayer Shawl Ministry
- Quilters on the Key
- RCE International through 12th grade.
- Rise Against Hunger Food Relief
- Sleep in Heavenly Peace Bed Builds
- United Ministries
- Assistance with rent/bills for those in emergency situations
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THESE MINISTRIES.
Is that all the Redemption Store does?
No, it is not. We start each shift with prayer requests and prayer. If anyone needs prayer at any time, we pray with them whether they are a customer, a donor, or a volunteer. If anyone needs help, we do what we can to get them the help they need. If they’re hungry, we feed them, it they’re thirsty, we give them something to drink. If they need clothes, we give them clothes. The Redemption Store is a ministry that meets the needs of our church and our community, and beyond. Our mission is to share the love of Jesus with everyone and that is what we do at The Redemption Store.
Please come shop with us, donate to us, volunteer with us, and share the love of Jesus with us!
April Stokes
Redemption Store Manager
april@perdidobay.church
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