A Mink Hat? You Never Know What You'll Find at United Church of Christ

Drive through Strongsville’s busiest intersection on Thursdays and you'll see the “Thrift Shop Open” sign on the lawn of the stately landmark at the northwest corner of Pearl and Royalton roads. 

But you might not realize that shop at the has been offering bargains for 30 years now.

The Thrift Shop serves about 50 customers every Thursday and up to 100 on its biannual “brown bag days,” when customers can fill a grocery bag with bargains for $5.

While customers — mostly friendly, mature ladies who seem to enjoy visiting as much as shopping — browse at a leisurely pace, the half-dozen or so volunteers who help out each Thursday work at a brisk clip in a staging room behind the cash register, where they sort out and price items donated for sale.

Members of the church and the community donate about 200 articles of clothing and jewelry, books, collectibles, toys and other items every week.

According to shop volunteer Janice Justice-Booth, so much new merchandise hits the floor each Thursday that some customers come twice: Once in the morning, then later in the afternoon when all of the “new” merchandise is on display.

Apparel makes up the bulk of the inventory. One regular customer, Lisa Moser of Strongsville, has found plenty of clothes for her seven children at The Thrift Shop over the years.

“It’s also a great place for the kids to buy little treasures for themselves, or Christmas or birthday gifts for the family, since they don’t have a lot of money to spend,” she said.

Occasionally, a rare treasure passes through the shop, such as a designer purse or vintage fur — such as a mink hat in its original May Company fabric storage bag (a lucky shopper nabbed it for $35) and a collectible Hardy Boys hardcover, which sold for $40.

Justice-Booth said one of her favorite experiences was outfitting an entire bridal party.

“It was a second wedding, and the bride found a semi-formal ivory gown here. From there, we found dresses for the bridesmaids and the mother of the bride. We even had a little outfit for the ring bearer,” she recalled.

“We originally opened the shop to raise money for a new parking lot, but they wouldn’t let us quit,” laughed Betty Bushea, a volunteer who saw the launch of the venture in 1981.

The idea for the shop came from congregation members Nadine Burnand and Erla Mae Schultz when the ladies vacationed in Burnand’s home state of Kansas. There, they saw how a friend’s church had raised some serious funds with a resale shop.

And though one might not guess it from the prices — $1 for a shirt, $2 for a lamp, 35 cents for greeting cards — The Thrift Shop at the United Church of Christ has done well for itself, as well. Since the program began 30 years ago, The Thrift Shop has brought in nearly $250,000 for various church projects.

The funds have gone toward everything from landscaping and new furnaces to computers and congregation members’ mission trips.   

Store hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Thursday. You can donate items any weekday during business hours at the church office.