Faith Mission to open second resale store on Southwest Parkway
Success breeds success and that’s very much the story with the Faith Mission Resale Store. The store on Jacksboro Highway, a former supermarket, has a full parking lot most of the time.
That’s why the mission will open a new store in a strip shopping area at 2709 Southwest Parkway.
The new store will be between Cato’s and Party City in the Crossroads shopping center, where a new United Supermarket has opened.
Faith Mission Executive Director Steve Sparks said the Jacksboro Highway store has been such a huge success the mission felt it needed a presence in the southwest part of the city.
“We expect to match what we’re doing at Jacksboro Highway not only in sales but also in donations,” Sparks said.
The resale shops sell donated clothes, furniture and everything in between. Sparks attributes the success to Faith Mission’s reputation.
“People want to support us by shopping. People tell us they love the fact we provide programs and services that help the people in Wichita Falls,” he said.
People like bargains, too.
ThreadUp, a large online consignment and thrift store, projected in its 2023 report the global market for secondhand clothing alone would grow to $350 billion by 2027.
“Thrift shopping is just real popular right now,” Sparks said.
He said a lot of young people come to the store to shop for antiques and look for treasures. The Jacksboro Highway store, which opened in 2014, now pays about a third of the mission’s operating expenses.
“It’s just an amazing thing,” he said.
The mission operates the Faith Mission Shelter for men near downtown Wichita Falls, Faith Refuge for women and children, an addiction recovery program and transitional housing. The resale shop is staffed by a combination of paid employees and volunteers, including some in recovery programs, Sparks said.
He said the store receives so many donations the mission bought a warehouse to hold them – and it’s full.
The Jacksboro Highway location has a drop off dock for donations and Sparks said a second drop-off has already opened in Crossroads near the new store.
He said the new location should be ready for occupancy in mid-February and open in time to welcome the spring clean-up and fix-up crowds.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Faith Mission to open second resale store on Southwest Parkway
