Word of mouth has led to customers routinely driving from more than half an hour away, says Pastor Todd Van Zee. “It’s going very, very well.”
Business is booming. The store initially was open only three days, but now has hours five days a week. The store is open during the day on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and in the evenings on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The customers come for the nearly new quality of the items as well as the low prices, which are pennies on the dollar. “None of our clothes have stains,” says Diane Haupt, the chair of Sonshine Community Services (SCS). “We look over all of our things very well.”
Nearly five years ago, Moose Lake Covenant Church started Sonshine Ministries in a building the size of a two-car garage to provide clothing, household goods, and larger home furnishings to people in need. In August – on the same day the congregation celebrated its 110th anniversary – the church dedicated the new store with 2,900 square feet of retail space.
Fifty percent of the profits are distributed within the community to help with clothing, utilities and other needs. The other 50 percent is being used to pay off a $20,000 loan from the church, which Haupt says should be done by the end of the year.
After the loan is paid, the money will be directed to some other form of ministry. One possibility is a safe house for abused women, Haupt says.
The building cost under $100,000. About $80,000 was raised through donations from people in the church as well as the community. The rest was funded through the church loan.
Much of the labor was donated. “That helped a lot,” Haupt says. The people around Moose Lake are saying the same about the ministry.
For more information, Haupt can be reached at the store by calling 218-485-5758.
