A unique Thrift Shop established in March 2006 to benefit
H.I.S. House (Homeless Intervention Shelter) in Placentia.

Charity’s Closet Mission

The mission of Charity’s Closet remains the same as it was when the shop was started:

• To create a dependable source of revenue since grant monies and government funds are significantly declining.
  
• To increase awareness of our shelter and the continuing homeless problem in Orange County.
  
• To expand our volunteer base and afford more people the chance to become involved in the shelter by working at the thrift shop.
• To provide a revenue-producing outlet for the large quantities of goods that are donated to the Shelter.

Charity’s Closet History

H.I.S. House began serving the needs of the homeless in 1989 when the Placentia Presbyterian Church purchased the property next door. Over the years this ministry has been blessed with tremendous support from many churches in the community, many organizations in the area, and generous people. By 1996 the H.I.S. House Board began discussing the idea of starting a thrift shop in order to make good use of the large amount of donations being given to the shelter. Storage was an ongoing problem as not everything could be absorbed by the residents. Obviously, the timing was not quite right as nothing came of the idea. Still, the donations came and the staff and volunteers sorted and tried to keep up with it. During 2004 one of the board members, who enjoyed visiting thrift shops, suggested the idea again and it was decided to form a committee to look into the possibility. And thus the seed was planted.

A group of five began visiting thrift shops and collecting data. Then meetings were held to determine the procedures necessary in seeking approval of the Presbytery, the Session, the Mission Committee, and the H.I.S. House Board. While this was taking place a business plan was being written, a search began for a location, and many thoughts for how to operate this shop were discussed. Once approval was given in the spring of 2005, things got very serious.
Now the search for a location intensified. This turned out to be the largest obstacle as rents were very high, and many landlords did not want a thrift shop as a tenant. During all of this time donations were being collected and stored in a storage unit and a garage. Finally, by November negotiations were beginning on a lease for our space on Bradford and finally possession was taken February 1, 2006. The long held dream was at last coming to fruition.

Now the real work started as the space was prepared and our volunteers recruited, as the shop was to be operated only with volunteers. There were so many details and decisions, but it all came together and March 15, 2006 was the opening date. In the first ten months of operation, Charity’s Closet has been able to repay the start-up money given us by H.I.S. House and then donate an additional $25,000 from our profits. The success of this mission has been overwhelming and the future holds great promise for continued success.