ReStore sales aid Habitat for Humanity’s proj
Local volunteers are helping to build a bright future for the City of Camden and restore hope for families in need.
By collecting and selling new and gently used materials, appliances and furniture, the Metro Camden Habitat for Humanity retail business, ReStore, is playing an important role in the organization’s effort to create new and rehabilitated homes in the community. “These stores opened for the purpose of establishing an additional revenue stream to build decent, affordable housing,” said Bob Fellner, general manager of the new Pennsauken location. “That’s our charge.”
ReStore offers items at discounted prices, and the selection runs the gamut of home improvement needs — appliances, windows, lumber, furniture, fixtures, televisions, tools and more, according to Fellner.
Donations come from both the public and private sectors, said Fellner.
The majority — about three-quarters of donations — has come from individuals, he said, but the store has received large contributions from major corporations, as well. “The Doubletree [Hotel] was redecorating and took about 250 rooms of furniture — nice furniture — and donated it,” he said. “They got a major tax deduction and five Habitats got fantastic furniture.”
The Ritz-Carlton Group recently donated 30 brand-new microwaves to the Pennsauken location, Fellner added.
A full list of acceptable items and instructions on donating are available through the organization’s homepage, www.habitat.org.
ReStore merchandise is marked between 50- to 90-percent off its retail price, said the manager.
Prices drop over time, too.
“Our tags have dates on them,” Fellner explained. “If we walk around in two weeks, and it hasn’t sold, we’ll lower the prices.”
The store is a destination for a wide variety of people looking for myriad home improvement materials and products, said Fellner.
“It really crosses such a diverse socioeconomic scale,” he said. “You have young couples or students moving into a new place, businessmen opening their own offices and looking for desks and chairs, or people who own rental units and need to furnish them.”
The Pennsauken ReStore opened Sept. 23, with a grand opening on Oct. 24, but the Habitat volunteers have been collecting items since last November, said the manager.
“We had been getting calls all along during our 20 years in Camden County, so we wound up filling up 20 temporary units [before the store opened],” he said. “We have a 15,000-square-foot building, and we still have another 10 storage units.”
Fellner, who began as a volunteer in construction with Habitat nine years ago, hopes to expand the ReStore location in the near future.
Right now, though, the store is looking for regular volunteers, and no experience in retail or construction is necessary, said the manager.
“Knowing how to smile and greet a customer doesn’t take a whole lot,” said Fellner. “We’re more than happy to have them come in and we’ll walk around and explain things.”
Those interested can sign up on the Web site or visit the Pennsauken location. There are currently 2,5000 Habitat for Humanity affiliates and 650 ReStore locations throughout the United States, said Fellner.
The Metro Camden Habitat for Humanity has been building homes in Camden since 1986. Funds from the Pennsauken ReStore will go toward the city’s Cooper Plaza project — a $4 million effort to construct 18 new homes directly behind Cooper University Hospital. The organization broke ground on the project Oct. 5 in honor of World Habitat Day.
The call for this service in the city is great, Fellner said.
“At one time, Camden was considered the poorest and most dangerous city in the United States,” he said. “The need for housing — for simple, affordable homes — is unending.”
The ability to purchase these homes can have a dramatic effect on the families, the manager continued.
“We had a family that can now afford to send their children to school and another where the mother was able to go back to school to become a nurse,” he said. “Suddenly, people are able to afford a home and it can change their lives.”
Habitat for Humanity essentially becomes the mortgage company for these qualified families, and the interest rate on the new home is zero, said Fellner.
“It makes the house affordable, and where there was once flat ground with no taxes, there’s now a home with taxes,” he said. “It’s a plus for the city, too.”
ReStore in Pennsauken, located 6955 Central Highway, is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The store offers a 30-day warranty on appliances; all other sales are final, with store credit offered if there is a problem, said Fellner.
Call 856-486-0400 or e-mail ReStore@habitatcamden.org for more information.
By collecting and selling new and gently used materials, appliances and furniture, the Metro Camden Habitat for Humanity retail business, ReStore, is playing an important role in the organization’s effort to create new and rehabilitated homes in the community. “These stores opened for the purpose of establishing an additional revenue stream to build decent, affordable housing,” said Bob Fellner, general manager of the new Pennsauken location. “That’s our charge.”
ReStore offers items at discounted prices, and the selection runs the gamut of home improvement needs — appliances, windows, lumber, furniture, fixtures, televisions, tools and more, according to Fellner.
Donations come from both the public and private sectors, said Fellner.
The majority — about three-quarters of donations — has come from individuals, he said, but the store has received large contributions from major corporations, as well. “The Doubletree [Hotel] was redecorating and took about 250 rooms of furniture — nice furniture — and donated it,” he said. “They got a major tax deduction and five Habitats got fantastic furniture.”
The Ritz-Carlton Group recently donated 30 brand-new microwaves to the Pennsauken location, Fellner added.
A full list of acceptable items and instructions on donating are available through the organization’s homepage, www.habitat.org.
ReStore merchandise is marked between 50- to 90-percent off its retail price, said the manager.
Prices drop over time, too.
“Our tags have dates on them,” Fellner explained. “If we walk around in two weeks, and it hasn’t sold, we’ll lower the prices.”
The store is a destination for a wide variety of people looking for myriad home improvement materials and products, said Fellner.
“It really crosses such a diverse socioeconomic scale,” he said. “You have young couples or students moving into a new place, businessmen opening their own offices and looking for desks and chairs, or people who own rental units and need to furnish them.”
The Pennsauken ReStore opened Sept. 23, with a grand opening on Oct. 24, but the Habitat volunteers have been collecting items since last November, said the manager.
“We had been getting calls all along during our 20 years in Camden County, so we wound up filling up 20 temporary units [before the store opened],” he said. “We have a 15,000-square-foot building, and we still have another 10 storage units.”
Fellner, who began as a volunteer in construction with Habitat nine years ago, hopes to expand the ReStore location in the near future.
Right now, though, the store is looking for regular volunteers, and no experience in retail or construction is necessary, said the manager.
“Knowing how to smile and greet a customer doesn’t take a whole lot,” said Fellner. “We’re more than happy to have them come in and we’ll walk around and explain things.”
Those interested can sign up on the Web site or visit the Pennsauken location. There are currently 2,5000 Habitat for Humanity affiliates and 650 ReStore locations throughout the United States, said Fellner.
The Metro Camden Habitat for Humanity has been building homes in Camden since 1986. Funds from the Pennsauken ReStore will go toward the city’s Cooper Plaza project — a $4 million effort to construct 18 new homes directly behind Cooper University Hospital. The organization broke ground on the project Oct. 5 in honor of World Habitat Day.
The call for this service in the city is great, Fellner said.
“At one time, Camden was considered the poorest and most dangerous city in the United States,” he said. “The need for housing — for simple, affordable homes — is unending.”
The ability to purchase these homes can have a dramatic effect on the families, the manager continued.
“We had a family that can now afford to send their children to school and another where the mother was able to go back to school to become a nurse,” he said. “Suddenly, people are able to afford a home and it can change their lives.”
Habitat for Humanity essentially becomes the mortgage company for these qualified families, and the interest rate on the new home is zero, said Fellner.
“It makes the house affordable, and where there was once flat ground with no taxes, there’s now a home with taxes,” he said. “It’s a plus for the city, too.”
ReStore in Pennsauken, located 6955 Central Highway, is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The store offers a 30-day warranty on appliances; all other sales are final, with store credit offered if there is a problem, said Fellner.
Call 856-486-0400 or e-mail ReStore@habitatcamden.org for more information.
